


Surviving, Evolving: The Obelisks

by nevermore64



Series: Rayne's Explorer Notes [3]
Category: ARK: Survival Evolved
Genre: Dinosaur - Freeform, Gaming, Journal, Recreational Drug Use, Survival, dino battles, even more dino friends!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 69,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23764789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermore64/pseuds/nevermore64
Summary: Yet another disaster nearly claims Rayne Gustavson's life. But she soon learns just how strong she's become. She knows what she has to do. Her goal is to conquer the Guardians of the Obelisks...I use pictures in this story. All credit for them goes to the artists and game designers who created Ark. I just took screenshots and “stylized” them a bit to look like paintings... to questionable success...
Series: Rayne's Explorer Notes [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1315526
Comments: 101
Kudos: 27





	1. Entry 33: Eulogies and Epiphanies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne returns and shares the tale of her fallen friend and her harrowing journey home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out "leveling up" is a hard thing to transcribe

I’m not giving up. This place will **not** beat me. After a year and a half surviving on an Island populated by hungry dinosaurs, I finally thought I found a way off. I collected the “artifacts” which, according to the information I had at the time, were keys to the Obelisks, the massive floating structures that dominate the Island’s landscape. I’d have to face a Guardian from each Obelisk, which would give me another key. Once I have the three Obelisk keys, I think I can escape.

I’d conquered the apex predator of the Island. I tamed her, named her Sue, and brought her home to meet the rest of my little horde of dinosaur friends. She was a proud and beautiful beast. Her snout was rounder than other Rex’s I’ve seen, and she sported charcoal grey scales over her massive frame. Our time together had been relatively brief, but she had grown to be a close friend. That’s why I’m writing now. Sue deserves a eulogy. I deserve a reminder of what can go wrong here. So here’s what happened at the Obelisk.

The trip to that cursed green spire, went as smooth as it possibly could. Nothing was interested in challenging Sue. We made it to the base of the Obelisk in a day and a half and camped out in its green glow. I steeled myself for whatever was ahead. I remember I was so nervous. I looked all over for a place where the “Guardian” could conceivably emerge. But there was no way to be certain. I think I convinced myself it would emerge in the watery crater below the obelisk. That made the most sense based on my own experience. But I wasn’t thinking… futuristic enough.

I went over my plan again and again. I would place the three artifacts I’d collected into their corresponding slot, climb on Sue’s back as quick as we could, and we’d find a safe place to scout out this supposed Guardian. Then we would go home and prepare a battle strategy.

But that’s not how it works. There is no “scouting out.” Once you place the artifacts in their proper slots, there’s a sound like the humming of machinery. Then there's sparks of light, followed by beams of it, that grow and kind of expand, until you’re standing in a dome of light that envelopes you. I scrambled to mount Sue and get us out of there. The light was an unknown. I had to get to safety. But I wasn’t fast enough. The whole process took seconds. I’d finally settled into Sue’s saddle when the light vanished. That’s when I realized the Island was gone. I was standing somewhere new. It was a massive cave. Wicked stalagmites hung from the ceiling a hundred or so yards above me. The walls and ceiling are coated in webs and desiccated dinosaur corpses of all sizes. A chill ran up my spine when I saw the skeletal, but unmistakable form of another T-Rex. I glanced forward and I realized what I’d mistaken for part of the rocky wall was very much alive.

I knew the creature in the Obelisk was supposed to be a giant spider. But giant just isn't an adequate word. This thing wasn't as big as a car. It wasn't even as big as a semi. No. This spider was bigger than most houses. It towered over even Sue by several meters. It stretched its legs, each longer than a school bus and stared at me with eight glistening red eyes, with venom dripping from mandibles long enough to skewer a cow.

I consigned myself to death right then and there. It wasn’t fair. I never meant to fight the thing. I was trying to gain intel. This place doesn't play by normal rules. The Obelisk isn’t just a weird floating structure. It also somehow facilitates instant teleportation. I was thinking a door would open somewhere and the Guardian would emerge. But instead, it teleported Sue and I, to it, and we were woefully unprepared.

As the monstrous spider turned towards us and fixed its jelly-like eyes on us, I realized our only chance was to fight. I steeled myself as best I could. The spider opened its maw and bellowed a whinnying shriek at us. I just got angry. That anger has settled over my entire being. It still won't go away. Who did this to me? Why? It might end here, but I won't make it easy...

Sue bellowed out a roar in response. I roared with her. Then the spider lumbered forward. It wasn't particularly fast. Its moves were slow, but they were calculated. Even at that size it moved faster than it should be able to move. I had Sue back up. Charging the beast would be the death of us. It easily outweighed us. I ran us sideways, around the pillars in the cave. I think I was hoping we’d find an exit, but I knew there wouldn’t be one. This was clearly a battle arena. We couldn't get too close to the walls. They were lined with the hellish spider’s prey.

The spider was hot on our heels. I saw a narrow passage between a rock pillar and the web-covered walls. If Sue and I could squeeze through, the Spider would have to go around to reach us. It could buy us some time. We hit it at a sprint. Sue’s bulk smashed the desiccated remains as we pushed through. Funnily enough, the spider tried to follow. The area was far to small to let it pass through. But still it tried. It wasn't too bright. I’d have to try and use that.

I got Sue turned around as quick as I could. By then, the monster had figured out it couldn't move the rock pillar. It was backing itself up, in order to move around it, and continue its pursuit. I waited just a few seconds. Maybe this thing was dumb enough not to see this coming. As soon as I could no longer see those horrid eyes, I urged Sue forward, back towards the narrow space we had just come through. It was easier to pass through this time. Sue had knocked the webbing loose. Sure enough, the spider hadn't predicted we would come back the way we came, so when we squeezed passed the pillar again, we had a perfect view of its disgusting flank.

I urged Sue forward, aiming for the creature’s side. Her incredible jaws closed around the base of one of the spider’s legs, right where they attached to its glossy abdomen. I heard her teeth crunch through exoskeleton.

The spider shrieked in fury, and began trying to wrench itself free of us, but Sue’s jaws don't open once they close. Miraculously, she was able to hold the spider in place there. Our position meant we weren't anywhere near its mandibles, where I guessed its weapons were. As long as we held it there, it wouldn't be able to hurt us. Let me just say, Hell spiders smell like old swamp ass. It’s a sickening, pungent, and sour musk smell that enveloped me as we struggled with the creature. Sue held on tight, but she wouldn't be able to hold on for long. The spider was stronger than she was. Once it got itself enough momentum it would likely start dragging us through the cave. I had to do as much damage as I could. I unbuckled myself from the saddle and pulled out my rifle. I fired into the beast’s bulbous abdomen from point blank range.

The bullet punched through its exoskeleton easily, slimy yellow ichor burst forth from the wound. The stuff smelled even worse than the rest of it. I reloaded as fast as I could. It's not easy when you’re trying to stay perched on a thrashing T-Rex. I managed to put three more rounds into its bulbous spider butt, but then a new problem emerged. A smaller (well you know, relatively) spider appeared on Sue’s back. It was about the size of one of spiders I'd seen in the caves, but it looked different. It was a smaller copy of the big one I was fighting. This one had skittered down from the nearby pillar and scampered onto Sue’s back. It was now eagerly sinking its fangs into her. Somehow I managed to charge the thing and put my boot through its disgusting face while staying balanced. I kicked the twitching carcass off of Sue, but then I saw the ground was alive with more of them. Dozens of spiders, each the size of a Great Dane, were converging on Sue and I. This thing was some sort of queen broodmother.

I leaned over and fired a shot at them, killing one, and scattering the rest. Before I could reload, I heard wet and sickening crack, and I completely lost track of which way was up.

By some miracle I managed to cling to Sue’s reigns, and avoid plummeting onto a few dozen giant angry spiders. When Sue stopped bouncing beneath me, I managed to scurry back into the saddle as I tried to figure out what happened. The Queen spider’s leg had snapped off. Sue had been pulling in the other direction when it happened. It happened so suddenly that Sue had gone reeling back in a desperate attempt to keep her footing. I'd almost been thrown off in the process. At first, I thought pulling off a leg was a victory, but now I'm starting to believe the queen did it on purpose to get away from us. Though it was now a bit lopsided, it’s missing leg didn't seem to make it any less mobile or dangerous, and now it was facing us again. We'd lost our flanking advantage.

Furthermore, a small army of smaller spiders had us surrounded. The big one wasn't a threat unless it was close. Right now it seemed content to stand thirty yards away watching us, while it's brood charged forward.

I tried to keep us facing towards it. The second we showed our backs to the Queen I knew it would charge at us. The first wave advanced. Sue chomped and stomped them into paste, while I kept desperately trying to reload and hold on at the same time. I remember thinking "we can do this. The Queen is hobbled, we'll kill the brood, and then we'll finish her off." Things got crazy. I found myself swinging my rifle like a club to dislodge the spiders that climbed Sue’s thrashing legs. We fought like that for a good ten minutes. I lost count of the number of broodlings I’d killed, but I was running out of breath, and Sue was succumbing to dozen’s of spider bites. We powered through, and as Sue stomped the last visible spider into slurry, I looked around, and my heart sank. More spiders emerged from all over the cave. We’d barely made a dent. I barely caught my breath before the mayhem started again.

The Queen had more tricks up her grotesque spindly sleeves. As I was trying to reload my rifle yet again, I watched her open her horrific maw, and from its dripping depths, a green gob of… something, fired out, hitting Sue square in the face with a wet splat. The effect was immediate. Sue bellowed in pain and I lost control of her. She stomped, thrashed, and roared. I could hear the fluid sizzle on Sue’s flesh. The Queen had spat some sort of acid. I had to give up trying to wrestle Sue back under control, because soon I was fighting for my life against the second wave of smaller spiders that managed to climb up her legs as she thrashed.

I didn't need to be looking to know what happened next. Right after kicking another spider away, an absolutely massive force rammed itself right into to Sue’s side. I tried to hold on to the reigns, but that just caused my arm to get wrenched out of its socket as I was rocketed off of my Rex. The spider Queen had found its opening and slammed into us. As Sue crashed to the ground, I slammed straight into a massive cocoon of a desiccated corpse. I think it used to be a Parasaur. I hit it hard enough to knock the wind out of me, my body breaking through old flesh, bone, and webbing as I crashed through it. I hit rock wall next, then tumbled toward the ground, hitting plenty of solid bone and rock on the way down. I finally hit the cold wet stone floor, and seconds later, a massive pile of bone, web, dead animal, and other spider-web garbage fell on top of me, pinning me to the ground and completely burying me. I'd hit my head once or twice as I'd fallen, so my vision was blurry. I was certain I was dying. Tears streamed down my face as I lay there hurting. But I wasn't crying for that.

For almost half an hour, I was trapped, listening as the spider Queen and her brood cocooned and fed on Sue. She was alive for most of it. I could only lie there helplessly as her powerful roars slowly but surely diminished. Soon they were nothing but whimpers, and finally silence. The only sound then was the clicking if mandibles and the skittering of dozens of legs. It was only a matter of time before the monsters found me and ate me too. In that moment I gave up.

I'm pretty sure I passed out. I clearly remember the nightmares. Skittering hordes of hell beasts, dominated by the sounds of Sue’s whimpers. The sound hasn't left my dreams to this day. It's not a sound you expect from the "Terrible Lizard King." Soft fearful, whimpering, as she's slowly eaten alive. I'm so sorry Sue. I failed you. You were incredible. You made that spider bleed. I wish you didn't have to whimper like that…

I can’t really say what happened, or how much time passed. It was the rays of sunshine that wrenched me from sleep moments later. I let out panicked whimpers of my own, and flailed about to fight off the skittering horrors which I was sure had dug me up. But there were no spiders, I blinked as sun got in my eyes. Finally, it hit me. I was no longer in the cave. I was back outside, beneath the Obelisk. I was alive. I’d been teleported back out.

Before I could ponder that fact, my wounds reminded me they were there. My arm was in agony and my head throbbed.

I managed to pull myself together enough to grab a thick stick from the ground. I placed it in my mouth and bit down hard, then, with my good arm, I gave my dislocated arm a powerful yank. The pain was absolute and instantaneous. I almost bit right through the stick, but then it was over. The pain was mostly gone, and I could move that arm again.

I was bruised, battered, and in many ways broken. But I was alive. I allowed myself several hours to cry over what I'd just been through. I let the memory of Sue’s terrified whimpers haunt me. I deserved the guilt.

That might have been my darkest moment. I hated myself so much as I lay there beneath the Obelisk. All of my other dark moments played themselves out in my head.

There was the time I woke up just in time to watch a Therizinosaurus skewer little Hank, the Dilophosaurus. He’d been the first predator I’d ever befriended here.

Next was the desperate battle with Ghost. That freakish alpha Rex had taken the combined efforts of myself, a Spinosaurus, six Raptors, two Parasaurs, one Triceratops, four Dilophosaurus, an Iguanadon, and one incredibly angry Diplodocus. I lost Pigeon, Iggy, Gracie, and Paula to that one monster.

Next was that damn cave in the upper south of the Island. I lost Seagull to piranhas, and Parakeet to a Sarcosuchus. Now… I’d lost Sue. I have to admit… Part of me wanted to just lie down and die… But I didn’t. I wanted to stay put, but instead I found myself struggling to my feet. I am my parent’s daughter, especially my dad... I’m way too stubborn to give up now…

I couldn’t stay put. First, I surveyed myself. I didn't have any major wounds. My head had hit the rock wall of the cave hard enough to shatter my helmet. I had a nasty bump, but no concussion this time. Other than some scrapes, bruises, a very sore arm, and a heavy heart, I was ok.

I still had my backpack and everything I'd been carrying on me. All the other supplies had been in Sue’s saddlebags. I took careful inventory of what I did have. An axe, a torch, my spear, my armor, a small sack of jerky, my rifle (miraculously I'd still been clinging to it when I woke up) but only about ten more bullets for it, and a canteen of water which I downed in seconds. Once that was done, I surveyed my surroundings. The artifacts that I’d placed in the platform were gone, but otherwise, it was as though I’d never left.

I was alone, with little food, and only a few weapons. Somehow I had to travel across incredibly harsh and hostile terrain, which was teaming with prehistoric predators. It had been dangerous enough while riding on a T-Rex. How was I supposed to get home on foot? “No, to hell with despair. You can do this Rayne.” I kept trying to reassure myself as I made my way down the platform, and out of the “Obelisk Pit.” I stuck close to the rocky walls, and moved as quietly as I could. I kept my ears open and my eyes peeled. I finally made my way out of the pit, but I was forced to step back in and hide behind the rocks. A group of deadly Raptors were patrolling a few dozen yards away. I heard them chirping to one another. I carefully peered out towards them.

For the moment, their attention seemed to be elsewhere, but months of playing hide-and-seek with Crow and Hawk have taught me to know better. They kept their upper bodies relaxed and their heads tilting this way and that, as if observing their surroundings… but they still made their way straight towards where I was hiding, and their legs were tense, ready to start sprinting in for a kill. That was their trick. They’d pretend they didn’t notice you, and make their way over, then strike. I had a fight coming.

I managed to spot three of them. That was a typical pack size. I scanned the bushes and shrubs for another that might be acting as a scout, but there weren’t any more. Three of them would be complicated. Two could play the tricky game. Casually I sauntered out of hiding. I kept my movements relaxed and steady, like I was just going for a stroll, but I didn’t let the trio leave my vision. They were apprehensive about my behavior. The big one in the middle had dropped the act and was staring straight at me, trying to decide if I’d spotted him or not.

I kept walking, pulling out my spear as casually as I could as I went. As far as they could tell, I was a walking snack that hadn't even recognized the danger yet. The biggest one was the first to try. I heard him coming with plenty of time to spare.

I'm not sure if I've just gotten really good at identifying sounds, or if this guy just hadn't bothered trying to keep quiet. I risked a small glance in its direction, so I could figure out how he'd attack. They'd either tackle, or pounce on their prey. His body dipped down as he got to around two meters from me, which gave me my answer. As he launched himself into the air with his powerful legs, I planted my feet, dug the butt of my spear as deep into the ground as I could, and simply held it aloft, as the helpless Raptor sailed towards it. With all of his momentum, the metal tip traveled right through the beast’s throat, emerging out the other side with a burst of blood and a shocked gurgle. I sidestepped his thrashing legs, dodging those wicked sickle claws by centimeters, and guiding the dying beast to the ground, even as it continued to try to get at me. I wrenched my spear messily from his neck. Sorry about that big guy. I know it hurts.

The other two stopped their charge when the saw their companion fall. But they didn't give up their hunt just yet. They started dashing at me and backing off, trying to find a way to break through my defense. A poke in the ribs was all it took to convince them a frontal assault was out. So they began alternating. I couldn't keep my spear on both of them right? That's what they thought. Crow, Finch, and Parakeet had taught me this trick a long time ago. I lowered my spear and let the smaller one on the left dash in for an attack. I jammed my arm into its maw and it clamped down hard. It tried to muscle its way closer to rake at me with its claws. The chitin gauntlet on my wrist kept my arm safe from its teeth. As I kept this Raptor here, I baited the other one into charging as well. Once again my timing was perfect. I whacked the Raptor biting me in the knee with the shaft of my spear, throwing off its balance. It took all the strength I had, but I managed to hoist the bite-y Raptor right into the path of the charger. The collision wasn't pretty.

They tumbled together right passed me. All I could see was a mass of claws and limbs. I didn't let them recover. With a running start I jammed my spear right into the tangled mess of Raptors, catching Bitey right under the chin, he squawked in surprise as I jammed through his jaw, and upwards, into his skull. The resulting spasms and shrieks told me I'd hit the brain.

The charger was tangled up under his companion. He tried to pull himself out, but I held him in place with my boot while pulled the spear out of Bitey. I killed the third one quick.

It wasn't until I'd put my spear away and relaxed my muscles, that I stopped and thought to myself "wow. That almost seemed easy." The last time I'd had a big fight against Raptors had been against Crow, and he had damn near killed me. I wondered if these were just weaker Raptors. But when you get right down to it... I’m the one that’s changed. Riding, sprinting, swimming, running, farming, crafting, mining, all of it had sculpted my muscles to a state near perfection. My time playing with my friends had taught me plenty about their behavior. All the time I spent keeping a lookout for predators had sharpened my senses way beyond a typical person’s. This place has made me a survivor. Perhaps I’ve been over-reliant on the dinosaurs.

I tested just how capable I was as I made my way home. I paid more attention to my surroundings and… I kinda had an epiphany. If I actually focused on the various signals my body was receiving, I could detect creatures long before I saw them with my eyes. I could feel their footsteps, see the slight rustle of the bushes they hid in... I could read their behavior, sense their intentions just by watching their stance and their eyes.

I call this newfound awareness my "survival sense.” It’s the same thing my dad was always rambling on about. "Use all five senses. Feel, see, smell, hear, hell, even taste your environment" he'd said. He'd taught me skills and strategies. But only now do I really see what I could do with those techniques. Only now did so much of his survival bullshit make sense.

I know I sound like I'm bragging, in some ways maybe I am. But it's not just me tooting my own horn. Like I said, it was like an epiphany of sorts. Like… I was looking around me, not really "seeing" anything. But now my eyes were open.

I got to work skinning the Raptors for meat and hide, and cooking what I could over a fire to make it last longer. Then I pushed on. But first, there was something I wanted to try. I knelt down, placing my palm firmly on the ground. I let my survivor sense do its thing, and felt for tremors in the earth.

After some time, I could feel them. They were subtle… but they were there. There were to many for a biped. It had to be a large quadruped that was causing these. Brontosaurus? Maybe. But which way was it? My gut said south, so that’s where I headed. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t just… losing it. I didn't have to travel far. I spotted the thing’s massive neck behind a tree line from hundreds of yards away. I wish I'd started perfecting this trick earlier. "Feel your surroundings," my dad had said. This must be part of what he meant. That trick, once you figure out, really only works with the big ones, but that doesn’t make it any less useful.

It’s not just my self-awareness that’s changed. I’m also just way more experienced with this land and these animals. I can read the signs. I can follow a trail. It’s sort of hard to transcribe all of this… Let’s just say I don’t feel as helpless on my own now…

All the same, I proceeded towards home, slowly and carefully. I honed my survival sense. I felt, I smelled, I listened, I saw, and I managed to identify and avoid every possible threat. I still haven't mastered it. I still bumped into a few more Raptors, but my survival sense made fighting so much easier. It wasn't about strength or speed. It was all in reading their behavior and reacting accordingly. Just watch their movements. Figure out what they're about to do. I didn't even need to kill these two. A few whacks to the face and failed charges that ended with them rolling around on their backs, and they decided I wasn't worth the effort.

Despite how well I was doing, I was dreading nightfall. I had no idea how I would be able to sleep safely out here. My body needed it too. By then I'd gotten bashed up by a demon spider, and battled two separate groups of Raptors. My body and mind were exhausted. I kept my eyes open for a defensible slot, but I just couldn't find one where I knew I could sleep safely. I was too close to the swamps to risk just hiding in leaves and hoping for the best. I'd wake up in a snake’s belly if I tried.

So I turned east, away from the swamps and towards rockier terrain. If I was lucky, I'd find a suitable nook or cranny to hide in.

The best I could find was a rock wall that at the bottom, jutted out far enough for me to squeeze under. It was tight, but so long as I didn't move around too much then none of the primary threats, like Raptors, would be able to reach me. Smaller creatures, like Compys, Troodons or even Dilos might be able to get at me, but not easily. I was pretty sure I'd wake up before any of them managed to kill me. All the same I covered myself with leaves. It was chilly, slightly damp, and miserable, but I managed to get a decent amount of rest.

The next morning, as I woke and my senses kicked in, I immediately detected danger. I lay still, listening. Quick footfalls. Nothing big. But it was close. Too close. As carefully as I could I rolled over, peered out of my hidey-hole, and was greeted by a pair of sickle-clawed feet. This island has way to many Raptors.

As I watched, it leaned down and peered right at me, with hungry yellow eyes. Crap. It knows I'm here. Seconds later it tried sticking its head in at me, but it couldn't get in far enough. So using its claws, it started digging at the ground to make room for itself. Clever jerk. Still. I'd caught it early. It might have reached me if I'd still been asleep. I couldn't fight from this cramped position, so I got myself ready. The next time it stuck its head in to check that I was there, I shot it in the face

My aim was good. Right into the brain, killing it instantly. However, I don't recommend firing a long rifle in a tight space. Recoil smacked me painfully against the rock wall, the sound left my ears ringing, and I spent a good five minutes choking on smoke. But I killed the Raptor.

He had two companions with him, but the gunshot scared them into a retreat. I emerged carefully. I'd have to watch myself in case the Raptors decided to circle back. How had they found me? Had they smelled me? I had to do something to mask my scent. But first, I stretched myself out, limbered up, ate some cooked Raptor and drank a bunch of water. I was as ready as I could be for another long day of hiking.

As it turned out, a wild T-Rex had claimed a lot of this area as its territory. With my “survival sense,” I managed to keep away from it. But I had to stop and hide myself a few times when those thundering footfalls wandered closer to me. I had no interest in peaking its curiosity. By chance I discovered its... toilet. Same kind Sue always made; a big stinking mound of shit. I'll be doing everything I can to avoid having to do this in the future, but I was alone and I needed to mask my scent so hungry predators didn't come looking for me. This was the best I could come up with. I held my nose, closed my eyes, and dove into the pile. It was awful. The stink sank into some of the hide I was wearing. But it did the trick. For the rest of that day, no predators came looking for me.

To avoid the swamp, I'd move south, down to the coast, then I’d move west till I reached the Homestead. It was slow going.

I crossed two rivers, and passed over two rocky slopes, dodging predators left and right. I made it all the way to the northern tip of the southern islands that day. I came to rest at the base of another rocky hill, where I nestled between two boulders. I pushed more rocks around to give the space added security.

The sun was only just starting to set, but once again, I was exhausted. I was sitting there munching on Raptor meat, dwelling on... everything, when I heard a growl way in the distance. I was safe in my little rock hut, but I was curious all the same. I found an empty patch of ground and pressed my palm to it, letting my “survival sense” do its thing. I couldn't quite make sense of the vibrations I was feeling, but they were definitely getting closer. Sometimes they moved in rhythm, but sometimes there was this.,. Plopping sound? I don't know how to describe it. It was just an unusual pattern for footsteps. Judging by their intensity, I guessed it was a mid-sized dinosaur. Probably a biped. But what were those extra plopping sounds? Did it have a third leg that only sometimes hit the ground? (gross).

I got my answer minutes later. I'd pulled out my spyglass to keep watch on the direction the tremors were coming from. The first thing I spotted, was an almost bright blue colored giant frog. I'd seen them in the swamps. They were only about as tall as a motorcycle, but they were hefty. Maybe as wide as an average parking space. You could almost mistake them for giant beanbag chairs.

The frogs had been mostly harmless, preferring to ignore me if I got close. Lindsay and I had been forced to kill one when we accidentally angered it while fighting a swarm of giant dragonflies. So they’re only hostile when they feel threatened. This one looked panicked. Its eyes bulged, and it never stopped hopping. That was the strange "plopping" I'd been feeling. The mid sized biped I'd also detected, must have been chasing the poor thing. Sure enough, a Carnotaurus emerged from the brush, seconds later

The Carno must have been chasing this frog for a while. The nearest swamp was at least a mile to the west. The frog was keeping ahead of it, but just barely. And now they were on open ground. Carnos are alarmingly good sprinters on open terrain.

The frog had likely only stayed ahead by hopping through the brush. But now it was in trouble. Call me an idiot. I already know it. I might have ignored all of it at any other time, but at that particular moment I was thinking about Sue. I was torn between being completely numb and on the verge of a meltdown all at once. I guess what I’m saying is… I felt sentimental.

I pulled myself out of my hiding spot with my trusty spear and worked my way towards the frog and the charging Carno. I angled myself right and ducked into the grass, hoping I wouldn't be noticed. About a minute later the pair came careening passed me. The Carno was rapidly closing in on the helpless frog. The timing of this had to be perfect. As the Carno moved passed me, (without even seeing me), I rose and jammed my spear into the ground as hard as I could, right where his next footfall would be. My plan worked, the spear snapped from the impact, but it held just enough to trip it up, and send it careening forward so quick it had no time to try to recover. The big beast fell face first into the ground, and rolled, kicking and flailing, to a halt in some trees, where it promptly got it’s head stuck between two of them.

For a moment, I though it had broken its neck. But after lying there stunned for a moment, it started moving again. It didn't look angry though. It almost looked panicked. I watched it thrash for a bit and finally I realized, it's long legs and tiny arms made it very difficult for it to get back on its feet while in its current position. I didn't stay still long. If I let the thing get up, the first thing it would do, was thrash me.

It probably would have been safest to shoot the thing in the head and be done with it. But like I said. I was feeling sentimental. I didn't have the heart to kill the big guy right now. He'd just been hunting for food after all. Instead, I ran back to my rock hut, where'd I'd left my bag of meat. I spent ten minutes gathering narcoberries, and smearing them into it, then I carefully approached the still thrashing animal and tossed bits of it into its mouth. I shushed and spoke softly and calmingly as I could until he finally stopped thrashing and fell asleep.

When I turned around, I found myself face-to-face with the big blue frog. He peered up at me, cocking his head curiously, I smiled and held my hand out to him, "you’re welcome" I said. He let me scratch his chin. Raising his head a bit so I could get better access. Then he puffed up his neck and croaked happily at me. I offered him some of my cooked meat. He seemed hesitant, but with a flick of his tongue he gobbled it up anyway. He followed me after that as I gathered up a large pile of meat to offer to the sleeping Carno. I stayed awake way longer than I should have. I didn't want to sleep with an angry Carno nearby. I had to try to make friends first. I managed to track down a few more Dodos (sorry guys) to make the meat offering to the Carno a bit bigger. I also set to work chopping down the smaller of the two trees he was stuck between.

When he finally woke up, it was completely dark out. Despite the danger I'd built a fire so I could see. There in the firelight, I offered the pile of food to the confused predator. He tried to scarf it down, but he just couldn't reach from its side. He was still having trouble getting himself to his feet. This next part was a gamble, but I think it helped me solidify a friendship. I used a boulder and a large piece of the felled tree to make a simple lever, and worked the end under the Carno’s bulk. I pushed down as hard as I could. I was starting to think I wouldn't be able to do it, but finally, working together with the Carno, we lifted him just enough to let him twist himself and get his feet under him.

After that I jogged away, gun at the ready, while my cowardly frog friend hopped behind me where he thought he'd be safe. The Carno looked between me and the big meat-pile I'd left him. He made a chirping sound before he stomped over to it and scarfed all of it up. He too decided to stay with me after that, I had to scold him a few times for going near the frog, but he got the idea. After that I slept rather soundly with a big guard dog watching over me, and a surprisingly comfortable frog pillow.

I once met a guy in Louisiana, who was partial to frog legs. I named my new Carno friend after him. His name is Jimbo.

Thank’s to Helena, I know the frogs are of a species called Beelzebufo, which means “Devil Frog.” It might seem a stretch, but I chose to name my loveable devil frog “Lovecraft.” I think it fits. “Devil Frog” sounds pretty lovecraftian.

Now that I had dinosaur backup, I felt much safer. The next morning the three of us set out southward. My survivor sense helped us avoid the big threats, while Jimbo and Lovecraft devoured anything that got too close to us. I'm only half kidding on that. Lovecraft nabbed a Troodon with his tongue and swallowed the damn thing whole.

Honestly I was happy I wasn't alone anymore, but Jimbo’s stomps threw off my “Survival sense” a bit. I suppose that’s worth considering when I’m prepping for future endeavors.

We made it to the beach in good time, and began the journey westward. But I knew it would take at least another day to get home. Luckily for me, I came across an old fire pit of mine from when I'd passed this way long before with my Raptors.

I built a fire and got another cozy nights sleep. The next morning we set off yet again. I was eager to be home, but after crossing a river and hiking for an hour, I felt the tremors of something large and close. It was a quadruped but not quite large enough to be a Brontosaurus. It might have been a Diplodocus, but I thought it sounded different from there footfalls. When Snugglebug move, he either slowly stomps, or full on gallops. The only other quadruped that size that I’m aware of is Spinosaurus, like Lindsay. We were not equipped to deal with one of those. I was down to about six bullets. Jimbo and Lovecraft wouldn’t stand a chance. How had it gotten so close without me feeling it earlier? Then it hit me, it was probably swimming.

I turned us north. The footfalls seemed to follow us though. It was rather alarming. It almost felt like as soon as I noticed it, it noticed me, and now it was making a beeline straight for me. I started hearing the footfalls coming closer after a few minutes. Some trees a few hundred yards off shook as the titan moved through them. But then a roar pierced the air. A familiar roar. I stopped and waited then, my companions seemed worried about the noise, but I reassured them as best I could, and held my arms up to them to try to tell them "be calm."

A few minutes later, a figure I knew came barreling through the trees, her bright orange sail almost shining in the afternoon sun. Lindsay had come to find me. Carefully, I whistled to alert her to my location. She came running towards me like a long lost dog. Before she reached me, I was blindsided by something dark and incredibly fast. I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash, from the tackle. Raven the Raptor... silly girl. She pinned me down and licked me… also like a long lost dog.

Crow showed up about a minute later, followed by Hawk. I can't tell you how happy I was to see my friends again. I have to assume they were out looking for me. I don't know why else they'd be so far from home. God I love these beasts. There were a few growls exchanged between Jimbo and the gang, but they accepted each other. Lovecraft almost bolted from the scene. I had to chase him and calm him down. I was safe now. After I'd hugged everyone present, I noticed Lindsay peering quizzically about. I almost burst into tears at the sight. She was looking for Sue, her friend. She sniffed at the air, hoping for a scent. I swear I could feel it when she realized Sue wasn't with me. My heart shattered all over again as Lindsay's broke for the first time. Now that I was safe, I could properly grieve for my lost Rex.

I leaned my head against Lindsay’s leg and I cried there. At first, she tolerated me, but after a few minutes. She shook her leg, telling me to move. She wouldn't look at me after that. I'm Sorry Lindsay. I hope you'll forgive me.

An hour or so later, we made it home. The first thing I did was carve Sue’s name into the grave I’d made to remember my other fallen allies. I've spent the last three days integrating my new friends into the family, saying hi to everyone, getting my farm back up and running, and getting the dinosaur’s food troughs refilled. Routine has been reestablished, but this place is that much emptier without its Terrible Lizard Queen.

Now that I’ve taken the time to let myself grieve and recover, I know what I have to do. I also know I’m more than capable of doing it. Sue was taken away from me, but the whole experience has made me stronger than I ever knew I was. I’m Rayne Gustavson, and this place will not fucking beat me. I have at least five more caves to find, two other guardians to defeat, and more importantly, I have a spider to squash.

Rest in peace Sue. I’m sorry I messed up. We will avenge you. That spider will pay…


	2. Entry 34: Shotgun Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne tries to pull herself together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait.

Shit… I’m not even sure what else to write. This past week has been… Difficult. I’m having trouble sleeping. Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in that cave, listening to my T-Rex whimper in terror, and then there’s scuttling horrors all around me. I’ve woken up screaming twice. One time I accidentally hurled my monkey across the bedroom. He hasn’t forgiven me yet. That spider messed up my head…

The best solution I’ve got right now, is not to sleep, but I’m not stupid. I can only keep that up for so long. It’s going to make me sloppy and ineffective. On this island, it only takes one wrong move to end up torn to shreds. I’m just praying the nightmares stop. Until then, to help with not sleeping, one of Rockwell’s recipe’s is for a Stimulant. It’s made of Stimberries and a dollop of (counter-intuitively) the narco paste… and it actually works! If you flavor it with other berries, it doesn’t even taste... too terrible, and boy do you get a jolt from it. 

I was going, pretty much nonstop, for three whole days this week. During that time my dinosaurs have been… slightly insufferable. I feed them like I always do, but I think they’re upset that I’m not playing with them or building fires. They can tough it out. I’m busy. And I’m not feeling particularly playful. The Raptors scratch at the door, the Lystrosaurs keep climbing my leg, begging for pets, and the Dilos keep warbling at me every time I walk outside. I started yelling at them to "leave me alone!" and that seemed to scare them away, but then Snugglebug gave me this look… which just made me feel guilty… and even angrier. I slammed the door and got back to work… Stupid, friendly jerk.

With nothing else to do, I’ve been tinkering. I’ve resolved to make some alcohol. Alcohol always helped me forget. The first thing I made was a solid airtight barrel. I’ve got new material to work with that will help me get it sealed just right. It’s even got a little primitive spigot. Next, I crafted some wicker baskets, and kept them nice and hole-y. I’m able to set the baskets over the open end of the barrel, fill them with berries, and then I smush them up. The juice drains into through the basket, which catches the fleshy bits. Its not perfect, but I think I got most of the pulp out. After hammering that barrel shut with some water, I stored it in my shadiest shed. Here's hoping the fermenting process is as quick as everything else on this damned Island. I’ll have gallons of Tintoberry wine.

The new material that made my wine barrel possible came from my new friend, Lovecraft. The morning after I got home, I found him pawing through my pile of chitin. I’m guessing he was looking for tasty bug meat. I had to snatch a piece of it out of his mouth before he swallowed it, and that’s when I saw what his spit was doing to the stuff.

The digestive systems of these frogs works (a little too) perfectly at dissolving their insect prey. Their spit alone starts melting down chitin into a gooey substance… but that substance soon solidifies into… well… cement. Seriously, it’s almost as hard as rock once it dries. It’s way easier to make than the cementing paste I was making out of crushed rock before. I call the new material “frog spit.” It’s given me all sorts of ideas to reinforce and mortar up my house and build and tinker with all sorts of things. 

But anyway, after finishing my barrel and throwing the leftover slurry to the Dodos, my next project was boots. That may not sound exciting, but I’m damn proud of these boots. I crafted soles out of what remained of Ghost’s rex leather, and wrapped it around a gob of paste. I stuck my foot in the paste before it dried and then nailed some more leather over the top. After that I nailed the soles to the rest of the leather that goes around my feet. The result is a thick-soled boot that actually fits my feet comfortably. By applying lines of “frog spit” to the right areas I’ve managed to seal it and make them mostly water proof. On top of all of that, the nails and the solid paste make them nice and stomp-y. I’m really proud of these boots you guys. I can run across fields, I can climb hills, and I can traverse rocky terrain in relative comfort. Seriously, you don’t realize how much you’ve missed comfortable shoes until you’ve traversed an Island with just some leather and weak fibers protecting your feet. 

The morning after I finished these wonderful creations, I emerged into the early morning sunlight, where I spotted a blue supply drop making its way to the ground a few miles west of us. I had Raven run me out there. She acted all confused when I whistled for her. I think all my friends are mad at me… I should stop yelling at them… We reached the supply drop, but there wasn’t much. Just some leather, and a pair of cloth gloves I didn’t want. But it did come with a few solid metal pipes, which gave me an idea. 

For the next few days I tinkered. The engrams had a design, but I experimented a bit with it. I sawed the pipes down into two identical barrels and bound and cemented them together. Then I carved a handle of wood. The small moving parts were a challenge, but since I was barely sleeping, I had plenty of time to make, and remake the springs until I got the size right. 

After three sleepless nights it was finished. Two short barrels, a solid frame, and a nice little quick-release system to let me reload. Readers? I’ve successfully cobbled together my own working shotgun. It can only hold two shells at a time, and the shells themselves are a bit challenging to make. The gunpowder I can make has to be pretty tightly packed in these shells to give them enough punch. But I’ve got all the metal scrap I need to make pellets. The short barrels mean it’s better suited to close range combat in this place, but the wide spread shot can royally mess things up too. The evening I finished it, I finally slept for a few hours… But there were still nightmares. I got as much sleep as I could, then I got right back to work. I’ve tested the shotgun, and it works. It damn near vaporized one of those little Troodon bastards.

I’m about out of “frog spit” now, so it’s time to go hunting for more chitin. I also need to reacquire the “artifacts” from the caves. Assuming this fucking Island keeps screwing me like it always has, I’m guessing the caves, that the Raptors and I cleared out weeks ago, are teeming with giant angry bugs again. I’ll be able to gather up a mountain of chitin and the artifact in one go. Maybe pulverizing a few cave spiders will be just the catharsis I need to make these fucking nightmares stop. Chiseling metal in the necessary parts for shotgun shells is a tedious process, so I wont go for another day or so. That’s okay. The longer I wait, the more likely my wine barrel will be nice and alcoholic when I get back.

-

It’s been three more days. I’ve got about fifty shells done, but I want to make more. I’m writing because Lindsay really is mad at me. I can't tell you how much that hurts. I wonder why she's mad. Does she think I don't care that Sue is gone? Does she think I just left her somewhere? Does she think I killed her? I honestly don't know. She hasn't been violent with me. She just won't look at me or interact with me the way she used to. Frankly, all the animals seem mad at me now, but fuck em. I’ve got bullets to make and a friend to avenge. I just got to keep working… I just wish Snugglebug and Raven would quit forlornly staring at me whenever I come outside…

-

I shouldn’t have done that… I’m back from the cave. I only took Jimbo. He didn’t come inside with me. He’s too big to fit through the entrance. I went in alone… Now almost everything in that cave is dead. I thought I’d feel better… but I just feel numb. I think there’s something wrong with me. 

I needed a whole pack of Raptors to help me last time… But this time… I knew where they were hiding. They weren’t as clever as they thought they were. I could sense them moving behind rocks. Most of them were too stupid to realize I was a threat. Over and over, I lured them out of hiding with noise, and then I’d blow them apart. The scorpions and millipedes never stood a chance. But it was the spiders I had a bone to pick with. I wasn’t kind to them. The others I’d shotgun in the face or chop off their heads… The spiders though… I took my time with them. I shotgunned their legs. The weapon worked beautifully. It would completely obliterate their spindly limbs and leave them desperately trying to readjust and drag themselves away. But then I’d pull out a club and I’d start smacking. I lost track of time with the first. It wasn’t till I looked down and saw I was just grinding goop and chiton fragments into the stone, that decided maybe it was time to move on... Then I found three more spiders... I thought I was doing it for Sue. I thought I was doing it for me. But no matter how many times I smashed those bastards… I couldn’t feel anything. At the same time… I couldn’t stop. 

The only thing I saw that survived my onslaught was one of those giant lizards. Megalania I think. He dropped from the ceiling to challenge me… But he scampered away after I blew a chunk out of his shoulder and knocked a few of his teeth out. I wanted to climb after him, but he made it the roof, and I didn’t bring my rifle… So I left him there, dripping blood into a piranha pool.

I thought it would be cathartic, and it was. But why do I feel so numb? And why do I feel all guilty when I look at Slayer? My conscience is still in there, I think, and I can’t decide if that makes me happy or sad. I think I need more time. I had a harrowing ordeal. I just need to recover some more. Whatever. I have the "Artifact of the Pack" again, and I’ve got a small mountain of chitin to make more “frog spit.” I set up that wine barrel two weeks ago. I think I’ll give it a taste…

-

The alcohol is alcohol! Woo!

-

Aw man. It totally works! I have happy juice! I’d be having more fun if I hadn’t made all the animals on the homestead mad at me, but fuck em! Time for a nice carefree evening. Rayne deserves it.

-

Fuck. I’m not thinking about spiders, but now I’m thinking about how everyone on the homestead is staying away from me. Come on guys. It’s not my fault. I just wanted to scout. I never meant for Sue to… Shit. Now I’m thinking about spiders again. I need another long swig…

-

That was a bit nice. I got some sniffs from the Raptors as I stumbled out of the drinking shed. But then I looked over and saw everyone sitting around the bonfire pit… Waiting for me to light it and sit with them… I couldn’t do it. I’m a clumsy drunk. I refuse to do anything with fire…Sorry guys. I want to sit with you. Those nights by the fire have been the only happy things I’ve had. But… I cant feel…

-

I think I’ve chugged enough. I think I’ll be throwing up and blacking out soon. I can’t do this. I thought I was just reeling. I thought I was just recovering. I thought I just needed to relax. I thought I just needed to get laid. But I don’t want any of that. All I want is to be held. I’m alone. I love my friends, but I’m alone. Nobody to hold Rayne. No one to reassure her. She just has to suck it up when a gargantuan spider audibly devours her friend while she’s stuck buried under moldering dinosaur corpses. Not only that… then she has to traverse horrifically dangerous terrain to reach relative safety of her dinky wooden homestead. 

The dinosaurs don’t understand. They’re smart, but they aren’t that smart. Someone hold me… Someone tell me I did the best I could. Someone tell me this isn’t going to be my life from now on… Someone get me out of here. I know someone had to have built this fucking place. They can teleport me to a giant spider cave but they cant teleport me home? Fuck you! 

I can’t do this! Why are you doing this to me? When I’m alone and traumatized I get stupid. I go on shotgun rampages in caves. I could easily have been killed in there. Furthermore, I promised myself I wouldn’t be cruel to the bugs anymore… But I stomped on a single spider for almost an hour… Then I get drunk and I cry. This journal is all I have. Sue was supposed to be my ticket out of here. Proof that I could conquer this place. But now she’s gone. I’m here alone… and all my friends hate me… because I can’t sleep… because all I see is that fucking spider, and all I hear is Sue’s whimpering. I feel…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try to imagine some of these pages are tear-streaked and crumpled. Rayne couldn't quite decide whether or not to keep some of these writings.


	3. Entry 35: Painful Wakeup Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne continues healing with the help of her friends.

I felt like a lonely woman in a shit situation. And That’s what I am. What a morning. I vaguely remember making it to bed, but I woke up some time at night feeling sick and thirsty… I went looking for water but I guess I passed out again at the bottom of the stairs. That’s where I woke up.

Why I took off everything but my panties, but then put my new boots back on, is still a mystery… When I finally woke up, all I could do was crawl outside in that ensemble.

Before I continue, it occurs to me (and I just read through a bunch of my journal to confirm it) that I never shared what I finally named my Unicorn. She mostly keeps to herself. I felt she was too pretty to bring on supply runs, but I’m definitely guilty of riding her up and down the beach (and feeling like the prettiest princess ever). Anyway, I finally remembered the name of the unicorn from that 80s movie. Her name is Amalthea, Thea for short. She plays a role in this morning’s events…

So like I said, I crawled outside, thinking I’d get some water. As soon as I left my porch, up clopped Thea, and without any prompting or hesitation, she grabbed the hem of my panties in her teeth, and painfully yanked me into the air. The next few minutes were a swirl of visuals as the horse carried/dragged me unceremoniously down the hill, and tossed me bodily into the water. By the time I made it back to my feet, my hair was in my face, my underwear was around my ankles, and, naturally, most of ~~the anim~~ my friends were staring at me.

Getting an atomic wedgie from a Unicorn is… quite the wake-up call. I was still completely hungover and grouchy but as I pulled my underwear back into place… I just started laughing. It felt like genuine laughter too. What else could I do but laugh? Seemingly encouraged by the sound, Raven jogged up to me and stuck her nose in my face, chirping in a friendly way. I leaned into her and gave her as big a hug as I could. Others came for love too, all of the Raptors, the Parasaurs, even big old Snugglebug nearly broke my back when he power snuggled me back under the water.

My head still isn’t quite on straight, but I think I’m healing. I don’t feel as short tempered as I have been for the past few weeks. Thea and Raven never leave my side, so if I ever feel myself slipping, they can help keep me standing.

I spent the morning with my friends. It felt good. I fed them and played a bit… but as the afternoon approached… I remembered my journey to the cave from last night. I guess since I’m a little less numb… now was the perfect time for guilt. I shouldn’t have done that. I could have gotten myself killed. But I did leave one alive. The Megalania. Maybe I could make one thing right… So Thea, Raven, and I returned to the Cave.

I found the wounded reptile on the cave floor, looking feverish. I’m glad he didn’t fall into the pool. His gunshot wound was still bleeding a bit. I really messed him up. He hissed and snapped at me when I approached. I deserved that… I tossed him some narcotic meat to knock him out, then cleaned and wrapped his wound as best I could. I left him there to rest. He’s too injured to risk walking, so I’ll keep checking on him if I can. Maybe he’ll forgive me and I’ll make a new friend?

Tonight I made a bonfire for the first time since I got back. All of my friends were thrilled. Even Samson nuzzled me as he stomped past. Not Lindsay though. She laid herself down on the other side of the blaze where I couldn’t see her. I’ll give her some space… It’s nice to feel loved again.

-

I’ve brought the lizard home. It took four days of healing for his wounds to close enough that I thought he’d be okay walking. I guided him out of the cave, and slowly but surely we made our way down the beaches back home. In the sun, his bumpy scales are a beautiful light red speckled with yellow and orange. His coloring reminded me of a sandy desert, and his tendency to hide on ceilings makes me think of him as a sandy “ninja,” so I gave him the name of a sand ninja from an anime I used to watch. His name is Gaara.

I shouldn’t be surprised by this anymore, but Gaara has way more brain power than you’d expect from a reptile. He’s definitely not all “lizard brain.” He socializes, he plays, and he forms connections more like a mammal or bird species might. Maybe that’s how he managed to forgive me for wounding him and leaving him for dead… But it might also be the pile of tasty pig guts and meat treats I left for him the past few days.

He’s a beautiful lizard. I’d have loved to keep a miniature version in a terrarium back at my old house (In my old life). He basks on the beach, flicking his tongue at anything that interests him. Occasionally he wanders to the cliffs where he can climb about on the rocks. He does it with a combination of sharp claws, and sticky padded toes, like a gecko. I’m like, 90 percent sure that no monitor species has that adaptation. So what kind of creature is he? Is he a Megalania or something else? If someone built teleportation tech… its not too absurd to imagine they could craft their own creatures. Maybe these aren’t dinosaurs at all?

But that’s too much thinking… My torch is dying so I’ll be trying to sleep again. I still have nightmares… but at the very least, I’m staying asleep most of the night.

-

I got a new engram today, and it gave me an idea… But I think I’m too scared to try this idea. The engram is for a Megalania saddle. I could theoretically ride him while he climbs up and down walls, but here's the thing… I’m terrified of heights… Well… Not really heights… Just flying and/or falling.

My idiot dad took me parachuting when I was way too young to do so, and he also thought it’d be hilarious to let go of me while we were plummeting. I got so scared during that fall… I never really recovered. It’s weird though. I’m fine if I’m rock climbing or up on top of a cliff looking down. I could even handle planes so long as I never looked out a window. But if I ever felt that sense of vertigo and weightlessness, I start having panic attacks. I’m not sure how I’ll react if I’m strapped to a giant lizard that does the climbing for me. That would be incredibly helpful in that one lava cave. I could have him climb across the wall or ceiling to get me to the artifact, and bypass the lava stepping stones. I’ll have to build it and try it out… See how I do. I swear if I fall in lava because I had a panic attack, because my idiot dad let go of me while plummeting to earth from thirty thousand feet in the air… I’m gonna die royally pissed at him.

-

The saddle for Gaara is just about done. He’s learned the whistle commands pretty quick too. Jimbo and Lovecraft have also become a part of the family. Lovecraft likes to hang out around Lindsay's little pool, where he can swim. Lindsay seems to enjoy his company, and they even made a game. Lindsay tries to catch Lovecraft with only her front feet. He just hops or swims away. Not once have I seen her try to catch him in her mouth like she will with the Raptors. I'm not really sure why that is. I can only assume that's part of the game they play. When they aren't busy playing "wrestle the scorpion" some of the Dilos seem to enjoy chasing him about too. When he's tired he just hops up onto the rocks, to bask in the sun.

Jimbo has made good friends with the Raptors. I'd almost go so far as to say they've inducted him into the pack. I see him racing and chasing with them all the time now.

Let me just take a moment to point out how strange it is to see a two story Spino, merrily chasing a band of Raptors, a giant frog, and a Carnotaurus around her little pool... Then you look to the side and see a scorpion waving around a compy, while a giant lizard watches in amusement, and a Unicorn takes a dust bath nearby.

I’ve got one of spider artifacts. I'll need to get another expedition together to get the other two. It takes a day or two just to reach those. Then I need to come up with a plan to actually fight against that monster spider. Even if I brought every single one of my friends with me, I’m not sure we'd be able to kill the damn thing. I may have to do some... recruiting. One thing at a time…

-

Okay… It did give me a bit of a heart attack, but I think I can handle riding Gaara while he climbs, at least on walls. I sincerely doubt I’ll manage to keep it together if he turns upside down, so we’ll stick to walls. I’ll get an expedition ready soon…

-

Got the damn artifact. Fuck wall crawling… Poor Gaara. We’d been fighting through bats, and he was doing great. We finally reached the artifact chamber and he happily scaled the wall and carefully made his way across it, safe from the lava pit below. Then, as he navigated around some sharp protrusions, he sort of bounced me… I slid to the side a bit… and then came the panic. I went a little hogwild… Thankfully, Gaara got us to the artifact platform even as I screeched and slapped ineffectually at his back.

I had to take a good quarter of an hour to calm myself down while Gaara just sort of… glared at me. Getting out went smooth though… Sorry for slapping you Gaara. You were awesome.


	4. Entry 36: Heavy Hitters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne makes some new angry friends.

Hello again, oh reader of questionable existence. It’s been two weeks since last I wrote. A lot has happened in that time. Lets get the big story out of the way first, and then we can get into the issue I’m facing.

After returning from the lava cave with Gaara and the Raptors, I took a few more days to rest up. I’m finally getting restful (if fitful) sleep. The trauma I endured is a nasty scar now, but I have plenty of those. I can keep going with scars. I’ve spent a majority of my time mending my relationships with my friends. Lindsay is the only one resisting, and frankly the new development has only upset her more… But I’ll keep trying. I can be patient.

I took a week to prepare for an excursion to the third and final cave. I packed a bunch of extra narcotic and tranq arrows, because I recalled seeing a big musclehead of a Rex around there. He’d make a great addition to my “revenge force.”

I took it slow. I actually rode Thea. Riding a horse bareback feels easy when you can stay balanced on the likes of Raven. So we carefully made our way around the swamps and across rivers to reach the base of the dreaded volcano. My “survivor’s sense” helped us to avoid trouble, and before long we were climbing the hill where the cave containing the Artifact of the Clever was located. I still had a bit of pent up fury against spiders, so I ended up doing most of the fighting myself… The Raptors came in with me but my shotgun blasts scared them. When I finally used up my shells, they came in and cleaned house. I’d left Thea outside but even she showed up to kick an Arthropluera in the face. I’m not even kidding there. Her hoof cracked right through its chitin and made a big nasty hole where its face used to be… and somehow she still made it look elegant and classy. I’m a bit jealous… But anyway, we'd cleared the cave, and retrieved the artifact by nightfall.

After that, the original plan had been to turn east, travel to the rivers and follow them around the swamps back home… However, after camping out that night, my “survivor sense” woke me up early. I felt the tell-tale tremors of… something large. I gathered up all the tranq supplies I had, loaded them up on Raven, and demanded the rest of my crew stay put, before chasing down a new potential ally.

I heard the first roar in the distance a few minutes later. I kept us moving, stopping periodically to let my “survivor sense” do its thing. There were quite a few tremors happening. There had to be more than one giant. Maybe a T. Rex fighting a Brontosaurus? Raven and I cautiously made our way towards the sounds, and then I heard a second roar. This one was unmistakably the trumpeting bellow of a Rex, but it was distinct from the first. This new one sounded… large. Could it be the meathead? Two Rex's. Were they fighting over territory?

About ten minutes later I reached some rocky planes. From high up on the hill I had a great view of what was happening in the little valley. There weren't two Rex's. There were three. One of them was a sizable light brown female, maybe a little smaller than Sue had been. She stood off to the side, calmly watching the others. The other two were both males. Both were a dark brown color, but they varied in size. One was pretty big, the other was freaking huge. Like.... really huge, and buff. How does a dinosaur look buff? Even from a distance his muscles were well defined and bulging and he stood few feet taller than the other two. That was definitely the meathead. 

The males were clearly in combat. It's a safe bet they were fighting for the attention of the nearby female (Men... I swear). They didn't bite, but they butted heads, growled, and pushed at one another, each trying to prove its dominance to the other. At one point, the shorter one broke away and made a dash towards the female. Curiously I watched her reaction to this. She bared her teeth and dipped her head. The smaller male was an intruder to her. That dash proved to be the smaller male’s downfall though. He took his eyes off of the meathead, who quickly shifted position, opened his jaws, and chomped down on the smaller Rex’ tale as it tried to pass him. I could only stare slack jawed as the meathead easily wrenched the smaller one off his feet and dragged him almost half the length of a football field. The smaller one struggled to get up, but the fight was over. Just to make sure he knew it, the meathead lowered his head and charged forward, barreling into the small one and sending it reeling. After that, the smaller male beat a hasty retreat. As far as first impressions go, it’s hard to top the meathead’s. This guy was adept at fighting things closer to his size. He made that smaller male look like a chump. I almost felt sorry for the little guy. I hated getting pushed around by meathead jocks too. But meatheads were exactly what I needed if I ever wanted to avenge Sue.

I needed this Rex. And who am I to break up a pair? It was time to gamble a bit and do something stupid. Just to be safe though, I watched them for about fifteen minutes or so. Getting between Rex's doing the mating dance might not be wise. They didn't do much really, no courtship displays or gift giving like I'd seen with other pairs I suspected were mates. Maybe they'd already mated and that other male had just tried to muscle in? Hard to say. I don't know enough about their behavior.

“Raven?” She chirped curiously. “Get ready to run.” She crawed in excitement. I readied my weapons then I leaned down to whisper in my beloved Raptor’s ear “play the game.” And play she did. 

I held on tight as Raven dashed in, nipped at the meathead’s shins, then dashed away again. When she slowed I looked up, we'd gotten his attention, he didn't look happy. But he couldn't tell where we'd gone. He stomped and looked angrily about, searching for the one that dared to challenge him. I fired the first of many tranq arrows at him and tapped Raven. Once again she dashed in and scratched his shins before he could react, but I knew the other Rex had spotted us. I heard her footsteps approaching. I fired one more tranq arrow up into the meathead’s belly, then Raven dashed away again. I chanced a look behind me when I thought I'd gained some distance. The meathead was still stomping around confused, but the female was coming right at us, she had a good eye for a Rex. 

But then something I didn't expect happened. In his stomping and flailing and spinning around, the meathead lost his balance. He staggered and twisted to regain his feet, colliding with his surprised mate in the process, sending her reeling. She took her eyes off of us, and I had Raven dash into the trees and out of sight. The meathead was a bit clumsy. I could use that. I knew I had a mischievous grin on my face.

For a good half hour, Raven and I sowed chaos. I think the meathead did more damage to his mate than we did, and the sad part was, none of it was on purpose. He kept stumbling into her path, or bumping into her while turning. I think I instigated a lover’s quarrel. The female started biting and snapping at him in frustration. Truth be told, I felt kinda bad about it. I kept putting tranq arrows into both of them. I must have fired my bow over a hundred times. The female was the first to start slowing down. I found I'd been shooting at her more, as she wised up to our tactics and became the more dangerous of the two.

She actually started retreating, just like Sue had. I had to follow her and keep shooting arrows at her while her clumsy mate stomped after us. Finally she stumbled and fell as the tranq did its work. She'd taken us toward the rocky walls and hills of the Volcano. The meathead was still hot on my heels. I had Raven take us straight towards a cliff face, before carefully turning myself to fire another arrow at the pursuing meathead’s face. He redoubled his efforts, pushing himself into a sprint, triumphantly growling as he gained on his elusive prey. As before, he stopped paying attention to his surroundings. As Raven turned sharply and ran safely along the cliff face, the meathead crashed right into it… face first. That’s twice I’ve tricked a Rex into smashing its head on something.

The chase was over after that. It's sort of a wonder the meathead didn't kill himself like that. He kept his feet for a few seconds, backing himself away from the rock wall he'd just collided with (left a freaking huge fracture in the stone... with his head!), and gazing blearily about. He let out a dazed burble before his head wound as well as the tranq did their job, and he crumpled to the ground. 

I've said it before but I'll say it again, if only to soothe my own guilty conscience, I hate killing the gentle dinosaurs here. But I made an exception this time. I had very rudely attacked these two Rex's. I felt I would have to go above and beyond in order to get their friendship. Raven and I didn't have to go far to find prey. A Stegosaurus was grazing a ways down the hill. I shot the poor thing in the head with my shotgun, ending its life as quick and painlessly as I could. The cave was nearby, so I ran over and called out the Raptor pack. I had to use all the rope I had to tie the carcass to my six Raptors, and Thea. That was the only way we were able to drag such a meal back to the sleeping Rex's. I ended up tracking down and killing a Parasaur as well, just to be sure they would have a full meal when they woke up. Sorry Mr. Parasaur. Sorry Mr. Stego. 

The female awoke first. I approached her alone, keeping my Raptors back. She was weary of me. She bared her teeth. I was ready to run if she chose to attack. Keeping my eyes on her, I moved towards the meal I'd left for them, guiding her eyes to it. She cocked her head curiously. She clearly didn't trust me, but she was also hungry. She cautiously approached the Stego, sniffing curiously, but never taking her eyes off of me. I moved away, giving her some space. I let her eat. I had a few pieces of Parasaur on me. As she tore a bloody chunk from the Stego, I approached, carefully offering the bloody cut of meat to her. She sniffed once, still suspicious, but she accepted my offering. There’s something… enthralling… about having something that big gently take a treat from your hands. With just a twitch of her head she could of knocked me on my ass, but she didn’t. She just gently took the Parasaur haunch I was holding and gulped it down.

I kept that up for a while. I also built as big a fire as I could, which wasn’t that big (I didn’t have much wood on me) but it was big enough for the Rex to enjoy. I'm calling the female Miranda. She’s slow to trust, and way less forgiving than Sue was. She doesn’t seem to like that I attacked her. She did eventually follow us home and she’s learning commands, but I think I’ve got some work to do to earn her trust.

Her mate has been much more pliable… well… he wasn’t at first. He woke up angry. I don't think he liked being beaten by something smaller than he was. I was ready for this though, I whistled to the Raptors to retreat, but called on Raven to stay. I climbed on her back as the meathead angrily got to his feet. I was ready to start the run and shoot process over again, but thankfully I didn't have to. As he came stomping at us, Miranda let out a fearsome bellow that popped my ears and stopped the meathead in his tracks. He almost looked sheepish, cowering away from Miranda's glaring eyes. He kept a glowering eye on me, and joined her in chomping up the food we'd left them. Under Miranda’s watchful eye, I worked to gain the meathead’s trust. Once I started handing him free food, it was like he totally forgot we kicked his ass. He’s actually pretty good-natured, even kinda sweet. He gave me an affectionate lick after I handed him his third chunk of Parasaur. His real name is James, but I will forever be referring to him as "Jimmy Meathead."

It took about two days to teach the pair to follow and then another day to get them home. They’re adjusting to life on the Homestead well. They’ve been here about a week now. The presence of the two new Rex's caused a bit of a panic among my friends there, but I've been working to make everyone friendly. Lindsay is the only one who has refused to accept it. I was afraid of that. She seems even angrier at me than ever. She must think I killed Sue, and then just replaced her…

I hope I can earn her love again. I miss her affection. I miss resting against her side, listening to her rythmic breathing. I'm sorry I got your friend killed Lindsay. Even if you learn to be friends with Jimmy and Miranda, Sue is still gone. But I still swear to you I'll make this right. With these new Rexs, I have a much better chance at making that spider pay. I’ve got all three artifacts, and two new heavy hitters for the fight… But I’m still not ready… I’ll explain why later… I need a (small) drink.


	5. Entry 37: Distraction from the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne's planning is interrupted by some nautical visitors.

I’ll have to put my plans on hold. We had a minor disaster show up from the sea. Lindsay’s hurt. Jeez. Where to start?

I was with my new additions, drilling whistle commands into their heads. I’ve been doing a lot of training to get us ready. But anyway, I stopped the drill when I heard this… haunting but… kind of pretty sound. It reminded me of romantic nights on a beach sipping cocktails, or perhaps being lost at sea and surrounded by the unknown, or maybe even both all at once. It was a long singing call that the winds carried in from the ocean. 

I headed towards the tip of my peninsula to investigate. I heard it again, but I couldn’t quite tell where it was coming from. It almost sounded like whale song. Then a massive and unfamiliar head breached the surface. It was triangular in shape and possessed wicked teeth, but other than that, it appeared gentle and curious. I only saw it for a split second before it dipped back below the waves. I waited a few minutes, before the mysterious creature reappeared spectacularly. It leapt out of the water and into the air. It must have been thirty or forty feet long. Its body was long and slender and its fins almost seemed tiny compared to the rest of its length. I recognized it immediately. It was one of my favorite sea “dinosaurs.” The ancient proto-whale, Basilosaurus. 

It breached and played in the waters only a few dozen yards away from where I stood. I let it take my breath away. A good quarter of an hour passed by as I just watched it dance through the water. Then it surfaced again, and angled its head towards me. Its song sounded curious as it dipped back below the water. There was nothing aggressive about it, so I didn’t see the harm in trying to interact. Tentatively I threw off my heavy clothes and stepped into the water. I’ve been dying to go swimming… but seeing a thirty-five foot shark sort of kills the swimming mood. Just to be safe I kept the tool belt that held my sword. If the thing did turn aggressive, I’m not sure what good it would do me... but it was something. Slowly I approached the undulating figure, before taking a deep breath and diving below the surface to meet it. Keeping my eyes open was a bit of a struggle, but not too terrible. I let it approach me… and it did. It curiously swam right up to me and began to swim in slow gentle circles around me. Its song became a bit more excited as it did. I reached out a hand as it passed close by, and stroked it from nose to neck. God that was exhilarating. It surfaced a bit as my hand glided along its smooth skin, and a jet of water erupted from its blowhole, forming (no joke) a small rainbow in the air above its head.

I swam with the creature for a bit, and it seemed thrilled to have my company. I also noticed there seemed to be a small group of enormous Stingrays all circling around each other. They seemed to be following the whale. I wasn’t particularly concerned about them. I mean how dangerous can Stingrays be? I know they COULD kill you but that’s like… very unlikely right? That assumption was a mistake… But at the time I ignored them and focused on the big beautiful whale. 

It would follow me around, even after I went ashore it followed me up and down the beach. After a few minutes, I ran to the meat trough to pull out some good thick chunks to share with it. As I returned I saw Linday’s sail emerge from the water as she returned from a swim. That freaked me out a bit. I didn’t want her to hurt the Basilosaur, or for it to hurt her. I sprinted back down the beach to try and stop a potential fight, but I guess I didn’t have to. Lindsay wasn’t interested in hunting the whale. She was more interested in swimming with it at the moment. I watched the two undulate about playfully. They stopped periodically to touch noses.

Once I was certain they weren’t going to kill each other, I waded back out into the water to join them. As I approached, Lindsay turned away from me (damn it Lindsay, please forgive me). But the Basi floated right up to me to eye my offering. It looked at me with its gentle eyes, seeking my approval. I pushed the meat chunk towards it and it scarfed it up. For such an elegant beast… it’s a really messy eater. I think it’s the teeth. It doesn’t just swallow up chunks, it shreds them up and sends viscera everywhere. I watched in morbid fascination for a bit as the big animal tore its treat apart. 

But then out of nowhere, something seemed to fly right into me and knock the wind right out of my lungs. I choked as whatever it was dragged me under the water a ways. I squirmed away from whatever it was and struggled to orient myself. As my eyes adjusted I almost screamed when I saw the swarm of bat-like shapes flying at me. The Stingrays were attacking me! Why the fuck were the Stingrays attacking me!? They were fast as hell in the water and they kept ramming into me. I barely managed to pull my sword from my belt as I started desperately trying to swim for shore. The frenzied animals kept coming. I had almost reached a point where my feet could touch the ground when one of them hit me with its tail. I’m really fucking lucky. Watch out for the Rays. They’re a billion times more dangerous then they look. This one only grazed me with its sharp stinger, but that was enough to cut a four-inch gash into my side, right below my ribs. An inch to the left and it likely would have punctured a lung. 

I can accept that maybe I was at fault. I can accept that maybe I committed some dinosaur faux pas that lead these animals to try and beat me up… But if assholes harass me… I will stab a bitch. With my sword in hand I managed to spin myself around. The Ray was trying to turn around and dart away, but it followed me into the shallows, where it was having trouble. I managed to reach out and grab a few of the tendril things on its head to pull myself close. Once I did I shanked it three or four times. The thing flailed, trying to get away, but I just skewered its fins and dragged it up the beach till I pulled it out of the water and left it to die in the sand. Seconds later I was joined by Raven and Hawk, who each dove into the water and caught themselves a Stingray apiece and dragged them ashore as well. Take that you jackasses. 

Holy shit. You should see the brusies those fuckers left me with. What the hell did I do to set them off? It seemed like they didn’t attack until I gave food to the Basi. The best theory I can come up with is they were angered when they saw food that wasn’t for them… So keep away from hungry Stingrays I guess. I used to like Stingrays. When you have to stitch your own wound closed with plant fiber though… it’s easy to hold a grudge. I had alcohol to dull the pain somewhat but its not like I had a needle either… The “surgery” was incredibly painful is what I’m trying to say. I had to stab myself with the pointiest bit of metal I could find so I could thread the fiber through. I’d really rather not dwell on it though. It was nasty and I lost my voice from screaming.

But that was only the first half of my amazing day. Once I finally slathered my wound with medical paste and the pain began to subside, I hiked back up the beach to see if the whale was still there. It was. Lindsay was still swimming with it. I watched them for a while. If the whale sticks around, I’ll call it Kasatka. That’s Russian for “whale.” I think I learned that from playing a “Metal Gear” game…

Lindsay didn’t seem to have any intention of coming ashore, so I just sat there watching her play with Kasatka. At some point Jimmy and Miranda stomped up to investigate. They aren’t swimmers though, so they stood on the beach with me. I figured I was done with physical activity, so I put my clothes and my gear back on and figured I would resume trying to teach Jimmy more whistle commands. 

I was trying to get him ready to be equipped with a saddle, so I was teaching him to lower himself and stand up. He was finally starting to get it when Kasatka distracted us before. 

So after a break to swim and get beat up, I decided to see if he retained the knowledge. “Jimmy!” He cocked his head and turned to me. “Lower down!” I called and followed it with a whistle. Obediently, Jimmy lowered himself down, almost low enough to lay his chin in the sand. “Good!” he replied with a grunt. Since he was positioned next to a convenient rock I decided to see how he’d do if I was on his back. Carefully I made my way up the rock, and gently climbed onto his shoulder. I moved slow, both to keep from startling him, and to keep my wound from opening. He didn’t seem to mind my presence at all, so I stepped up onto his back. I stopped to kneel down and brace myself, then, “Jimmy, up!” He stood a little quick which caused me to lurch (and panic a bit) but I kept my feet and readjusted. Once I was certain I wasn’t going to fall, I even stood up. “Jimmy! Good!” I knew he was getting an extra large meat treat tonight. I leaned down to give him a pat. 

From on top of my Meathead, I had an even better view of Kasatka’s silhouette as it slithered through the water with Lindsay close behind. I watched in fascination for a while. Kas is sort of mesmerizing to watch. He just gracefully weaves his long body through the surf. It reminds of how I imagined an eastern dragon might weave through the sky. 

After a while Lindsay stopped swimming and just tread water while Kas drifted in circles around her. I smiled at the sight. I was about to tell Jimmy to let me down when something else caught my eye. A third silhouette was making its way rapidly towards Lindsay and Kas. I recognized that torpedo-shape immediately. It hadn’t changed at all for millions of years. It was a shark. A shark roughly as large as a school bus. The massive thing was closing in fast.

“Lindsay!” I yelled. She completely ignored me. “LINDSAY!” I screamed as loud as I could, but I was still hoarse from my surgery. I’m sure she heard me, she was just stubbornly ignoring me. “LINDSAY DAMN IT!” I was getting frantic. She wasn’t looking the right way. She didn’t see the behemoth rapidly approaching. I watched helplessly as a massive shark fin breached the surface. I could make out the beast’s toothy grin as it opened its jaws for a massive bite. I stuck both pinkies in my mouth and blew as hard as I could. This was my emergency whistle. All my animals know what it means. Finally Lindsay turned her head. Finally she saw the shark coming at her. But she was seconds too late to completely avoid it. I saw her twist herself to try to get away, but the shark’s jaws make contact with her side as it lunged for her. They both disappeared under the water in a swirl of sea foam. To my dismay, there was blood in the water. I could barely make out what was happening after that. The three massive shapes of Lindsay, Kasatka, and the Megaladon swirled about, churning the water and making small waves.

Finally, one of them broke away from the other two. To my relief, I realized it was the shark. The shark was fleeing. Lindsay resurfaced and was now making her way to shore. My relief was short lived. The shark doubled back, and was now speeding towards Lindsay again. It was going to reach her before she escaped. I had to do something. Thankfully I had my rifle on my back. I pulled it loose and prayed I had a bullet left in my pouch. I did. I loaded it as fast as I could and did my best to aim from atop an excited T-Rex. It was almost eighty yards out, I may not hurt it much, but if I could hit it, I might at least slow it down, so Lindsay could reach the shore. I lined up the sights on that fin and waited a few more seconds. As soon as I saw the black eyes above the water, I pulled the trigger. For the second time that day, luck was with me. My shot didn’t just hit the beast. It messed it up. I saw blood spatter, and seconds later it was writhing about, splashing in all directions, like it was in intense pain. I saw Kas swimming in to attack as well. I looked away. “Jimmy! Down!” He lowered us down, and I jumped off his back and sprinted to Lindsay as she pulled herself up the beach. 

She tried to growl at me and look away, but I was in no mood for guff. I smacked her nose (which did nothing) and shouted “Lindsay! NO! Lay down and hold still!” She still refused eye contact, but she complied. I half climbed my way up her side to see how badly she’d been bitten. The blood made it look a lot worse than it was. As far as I could tell, the shark just barely missed her, but still got its teeth from its upper jaw into her. She’s got a series of gashes in a half moon shape on her side. It kinda lines up with her sail.

I spent a good ten minutes checking each gash to pull out the remains of any shark teeth. I got at least one that’s fully intact. Megaladon teeth are as big as my hands and they’re serrated along the sides. These things were just built to slide into flesh. Even flesh as thick as Lindsay’s. 

I was gonna have to try and stitch them closed, so I finally turned around to see the wall of dinosaurs that had formed behind me. Literally every single animal that lives with me (that wasn’t penned up) had come speeding towards me when they heard my emergency whistle. Every single one of them stared expectantly at me, as though waiting for a command. Ugh. It took a good fifteen minutes to get everyone calm and then get them to not stand in a massive pile. Finally I made it to my house where I grabbed some narc. I had to force-feed it to Lin so I could stitch her without hurting her. After that I smeared medical paste onto palm leaves, and used a bit of “frog spit” around the edges to essentially make a couple of giant “band aids” which I stuck onto her side. 

The shark itself thankfully died right after I shot it. Kasatka bit a few chunks out of it, then he pushed it towards the shore, where Miranda grabbed hold of it and pulled it up the beach for the carnivores to enjoy. I snuck in during the feast just to get a close look… It’s a giant goddamn shark… That’s fucking awesome. I got really lucky when I shot it. I found the bullet hole right around one of it’s nostrils. It had gone straight into its brain, killing it instantly. I wish I could say that I’m just that good… but that was a lucky shot.

Lindsay woke up that night. She still wont look at me, but she let me check on her, and didn’t growl when I gave her a few pats. I hope I showed her that I care. Once we’ve recovered from this mess, I’ll get back to planning my glorious revenge. I’m hoping, at the very least… Lindsay might be more willing to come with me now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've all made that "whistle all" mistake before.


	6. Entry 38: Recruitment Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne builds a fighting force.

It’s Monday. The shark attack happened five days ago. Kasatka is still here. I was happy about that at first, but it’s caused another problem. You see, I’ve spent the last four days trying to puzzle out how I’m going to fight the Spider. Jimmy and Miranda are both tough as nails. I’ve done a pretty good job training them, and the saddles I made for them are decked out with a bit of extra armor to give them more of an edge. I have no doubt Jimmy could royally ruin the Queen’s day, and Miranda, while not as strong, is just as tough as he is, and almost as clever as Lindsay. But I’m still not sure it will be enough. 

There’s the Queen’s brood to consider. They inject tranq poison with their bites, and there were dozens of them. Alone they aren’t much of a threat to a Rex, but as a group, while we’re distracted fighting the big one? That’s what’s killing me. The other thing is… I think the Queen is too big even for TWO Rexes. Maybe if I can bring Lindsay along, I’ll feel better… But there’s no guarantee of that right now.

Somehow, I need to protect us from the Queen’s brood. There’s plenty of medium-sized friends I could take that could fight the hordes for us, but I can’t bring too many of them… because that would leave the homestead undefended. I want to bring my three bigguns, Meathead, Miranda, and Lindsay, as well as Samson, Bob the Builder, and Jimbo (shit… Jimmy and Jimbo are gonna get confusing…) to fight the Queen. That would leave the Raptor pack, Gaara, Slayer, Lovecraft, Thea, and the Dilos to watch home. Bob is usually the homestead’s guard. He watches the northern border like a hawk. I can always count on him to chase the snakes away. Will the Raptors be able to fill that space while he’s gone? On top of all that… with Kasatka rapidly becoming a beloved member of the homestead, how the hell am I going to keep him safe from another shark? I can’t leave Snugglebug, the Lystros, and the little ones without a good solid fighting force. I need to do some recruiting.

-

Got a new recruit. A new Carno. He’s brown with orangey stripes, and I call him Billy-Joe. He and Jimbo became fast friend. One more soldier for the upcoming battle. 

-

Got a new Trike. I was worried how Samson would react. He’s always so… solitary. But he doesn’t seem to mind the new addition. Probably helps that she’s a pretty female who’s just as brawny as he is… but she’s a lot less stoic. Samson really is just a bit antisocial… Her name is Shea. Trikes will be alliteration… Also her skin reminds me of Shea Butter commercials for some reason…

-

Raven is a freaking speed mutant. I encountered a pair of Iguanodons that fled when they saw my pack coming, but she easily kept pace with them while I shot at them with tranq arrows. I got a little pang in my heart when I tamed the first one. Her coloring is very similar to Iggy’s. In his memory, I named that one Azalea. The other is Minaj. Maybe I’ll find a male to call Nicki (if you aren’t from the same time period as me, just know those were hilarious pop culture references…)

-

I found a Nicki

-

Ok. My new recruits have been inducted. The Iguanodons are tough and sassy. They’ll be more than enough to shore up the homestead’s defenses while I’m gone.

I’ve got two Trikes, and two Carnos so far to take on the Queen’s brood. I still need more, something to really get the brood’s attention.

And what am I gonna do about Kas?

-

DOLPHINS! I don’t know why I’m so excited. They’re also not dolphins. They’re technically marine reptiles… Their tails don’t even go up and down, so I have no idea why my brain sorts them into a “dolphin” category. Ugh. I’m too much of a Dino-nerd. They’re called “Ichthyosaurus,” or “the fish lizard.” 

So yesterday, I went for a swim with Kas to calm my frantic brain, and four of these creatures swam right up to me. It kinda startled the hell out of me if I’m being honest. They’re pretty hefty, maybe eight feet long and three or four feet around. They’re all striped with different colors and (other than the tail being rotated the wrong way) they’re shaped like dolphins. Flippers, a dorsal fin, a rounded body, and a long bottle shaped nose. They have freaky bulging eyes, though… On top of being dolphin-shaped, they kinda act like dolphins too. Or at least I think dolphins act that way, but I lived in middle America my whole life…

They’re playful and very curious. They happily swam up to me to inspect me. Then, once I started swimming with them they started playfully swimming in circles around me and leaping from the water to splash me. When I’m treading water, they like to swim up between my legs and drag me across the surface as far as they can. It’d be fun if I weren’t still paranoid about sharks.

So those dolphins began playing with Kas, and I fed them all some tasty treats and low and behold, they’re all still here the next day. I was watching the way they play, and I couldn’t help but notice how fast they are, and how sharp their teeth are. Hmm. Maybe four Ichthys and one Basi will be enough to repel sharks? I’m a little skeptical of their odds when fighting an oceanic apex predator, but I shouldn’t be gone for too terribly long. It’s gonna have to be enough. They’re names are “Nemo, Dory, Marlin, and Crush.”

Now to get back to finding a few more soldiers. But what?

-

GIANT SLOTHS!! I’ve got them guys. I’ve got my trump card against the queen spider’s brood. I took the Raptor’s around the swamp to see what I could find in the Redwood forest. There I saw a bunch of big angry scorpions scuttling about. I wasn’t interested in a fight, so I went around them, but then these ten foot hairy beasts came charging out of the brush. They’re arms are as thick as dinner plates and their claws would make a combine harvester blush. The pair of creatures charged at the scorpions and tore them open in seconds. 

They’re omnivorous as far as I can tell, but I get the distinct impression that giant bug/arachnid is their favorite food. They get frenzied when they see them. After that short display of brutality… I knew I’d found the ones. Fighting them wasn’t easy. They’re sloths, and they’re also very large. You wouldn’t think they’d be particularly quick, but when you get them angry… They’re pretty damn vicious. With some clever hit and run attacks though, we put the hairy brutes to sleep. I made a run across the swamp to that awful icy cave where I lost two Raptors before. I wasn’t sticking around. I just needed to get my new friends a worthy offering. The Raptors and I dragged a giant millipede and two cave spiders back for them to enjoy. They were big fans. I call them “Chewie” and “Cousin It.” I’ll be taking a few days to train them… but I think this is it. I think I’ve got my fighting force…

-

We’re as ready as we can get. I’ve got my armor repaired, my weapons cleaned and spruced up, ammo made, and travel supplies ready. I made myself some new holsters so I could carry my rifle and my new spear on my back, and my other tools, and my ammo pouches on my belt. I’m going to take a brief moment to gush about my new spear. Remember that shark from two weeks ago? I used the biggest baddest tooth I could pull from the fucker and used it as my new spear tip. I had to smith myself a whole new shaft to hold it, but it’s customized a bit so I can switch out for different teeth or a metal spearhead if I need to… But anyway. I also made a shoulder strap for my shotgun, so I can carry it comfortably and access it relatively quickly. I am now Rayne, Slinger of Shotguns. 

On the dinosaur end of things, everyone is trained and equipped with solid leather padding to give them protection. I’ve taught them to separate into groups. Group “Big” is Jimmy Meathead, Miranda, and (hopefully) Lindsay. Group “Less Big” is Shea, Samson, Jimbo, Billy-Joe, Chewie, Cousin It, and Bob the (motherfucking) Builder.

I’ve taught the Raptors to be a bit more vigilant, so they can help out my Iguanodons, and Gaara with keeping the place safe.

I’m still not one hundred percent certain Lindsay will come with me. She let me put the saddle on her, and she’s been begrudgingly obeying my commands… but she still wont look at me. Me saddling everyone up seems to have made her suspicious as well.

It’s time to gather my courage, and take back what that Spider tore from me. It’s payback time.


	7. Entry 39: Payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne pays another visit to the Spider Queen... with friends.

Wow. My head is spinning. Lets start at beginning, which was five days ago. That morning, got off to a great start when I saw Lindsay begin to follow us as we began our journey. I almost cheered. It seems she had decided to come with us after all. She wouldn't let me ride her, and she still wouldn't look at me, but I was just glad she was coming. "We’ll avenge Sue together,” I said to her. She cocked her head at Sue’s name, but she ignored the rest. It sucked leaving the Raptors behind, Raven in particular seemed incredibly unhappy. I fed her a meat treat and gave her a big hug. I felt a bit numb as we set off. Part of me was buzzing with excitement, but the other part was begging me to stop. But I ignored that. I’d come too far. I couldn’t quit.

I walked alongside my posse this time, rather than ride the whole way. It felt good to do so, oddly. I still jumped on Jimmy’s back when we had to cross water or swamp, but still. They were my equals, my soldiers. I walk with them, not above them. It just felt like the right thing to do during this journey.

Because of that, our pace was slow but steady. We reached the Obelisk after about two days. The evening we spent camped out beneath it was… tense. I was dreading what was to come. Sue’s whimpers haunted my dreams that night, and all of my fears came rushing back the next morning. What if this wasn't enough? What if we all died here? I hushed those thoughts up again.

I called everyone close to me, Lindsay seemed hesitant, but she stood with me by the pedestal. After checking that everything was ready, saddles and armor on, everyone fed and watered, and all my equipment sharpened, I placed the three artifacts in their proper slots. Once again, the Obelisk whirred to life, the light engulfed us, and then, I was back in that horrid cave.

Just like before, she stood before us. Her legs had completely grown back, and she'd replenished her brood. Once again she unleashed a chirping, bellowing, roar at us, challenging us. I came so close to losing it… but no. I had a bone to pick with this bitch.

I roared right back at her, and good old Jimmy Meathead joined me. All of the others, every single one joined him in roaring at the monstrous Spider Queen. Ours drowned hers out this time. Maybe it was my imagination, but I swore I saw trepidation in the monstrous Spider’s posture.

There was a tiny moment of calm before the chaos began. “LESS BIG GROUP! FORM UP!” I shouted commands as I scrambled up Jimmy’s side and into his saddle. The Trikes, Bob, and the Carnos, grouped together. “CHARGERS FORWARD! CHARGE! STAY WITH THEM BOB! SLOTHS!” I grinned when I saw them follow my orders to a t. The Trikes and the Carnos lined up and charged together. I watched little broken spiders get flung through the air as the four of them galloped into the brood, with Bob the builder, and the Sloths following close behind. Once the charge halted, they'd form a defensive circle, like I'd taught them. They'd fight till the death, but I wasn't going to let death come. The Sloths got to work. I swear, they cracked those spiders like freaking eggs. And Bob just sort of casually skewered them and flung them away. “You guys are getting so many treats,” I remember saying. But now it was time for Group Big to do its job.

While all of that was happening, I yelled to Miranda and got her to move around the right wall of the cave, circling around the Spider Queen, who couldn't decide which of the many targets in her lair, that she wanted to kill first. She hocked a gob of acid at Jimmy and I, but I got him to back up enough that it splashed harmlessly on the ground in front of us. I called out to Lindsay, but I got no response. I shot looks around the cavern, and for what I promise myself will be the final time over this fucking cave, my heart broke.

Lindsay was completely ignoring the battle. She had wandered over to a massive webbed cocoon that lay on the ground, shaped vaguely like a t. Rex. I knew it was Sue. She was right where they'd left her. All that remained were dried bones and spider webs. Lindsay gazed forlornly down at what was left of her friend. My heart stayed broken for the rest of the fight, but I let it fuel me. I ignored Lindsay.

The Queen had her eyes on us, and her spindly legs moving. "CHARGE!" I shouted, and Jimmy charged. It's true, Jimmy can be super clumsy, but when he's fighting enemies his size, he's a god damn monster. The Spider Queen outweighed him by several tons at least, but all the same he met her charge head on, lowering his head and plowing into her like a battering ram. His strength actually sent her reeling backwards, as he plowed his skull right into her face.

I don't envy her. I've seen Jimmy’s skull crack rock walls after all. Meathead recovered quick and stomped forward, looking to sink his teeth into his stunned foe. I thought we'd won right there, but the spider Queen was too thick. Jimmy couldn't open his jaws wide enough to clamp down on anything, and despite the power of his jaws, being unable to clamp down meant his teeth barely scratched the surface of the Queen’s exoskeleton.

We had to back away as the Queen lunged for us with her jaws. When she couldn’t reach us she reared up a bit, trying to bring her legs down on Jimmy to pin him down. “BACK JIMMY!” Those massive spiky tree trunks just missed us. Jimmy regrouped fast and we charged right into one of those legs. I heard the chitin crack from the power of Jimmy’s skull. We had to repeat that dance several times. The Queen wasn’t particularly bright, and it didn’t seem to occur to her to try something new, but we couldn’t get at her head. After we rammed into one of her legs for the third consecutive time, I felt it break and almost cheered in triumph, but it was short lived. He broke right through it and his momentum carried us right to the Queen’s dripping fangs. Jimmy smacked his head into her shoulder, and good on him for keeping his charge going, but it left him vulnerable to her jaws. Even at her size, she struck like lightning. Lunging forward, and jabbing her needle fangs into Jimmy’s nose, injecting him with toxins, and lurching back, all in a second or two.

He backed away shaking his head in pain. The Queen scurried forward to continue her onslaught. She thought she had us in a vulnerable position. She threw a few of her front legs over us to hold us in place, before lunging forward to sink her fangs deep into Jimmy’s shoulder. She made a big mistake. She forgot about me. The way she positioned herself put her ugly face right next to the saddle. I unstrapped myself, stood up, and fired both barrels of my shotgun right into her ugly mug. Even at her size, she felt it when the spread shot blew chunks of her head away. As she shrieked, Miranda arrived from the rear, ramming into her and closing her jaws around two of her legs, just like Sue and I had done.

“Jimmy! You okay?” I shouted. He responded with a snarl, as he shook off whatever the spider Queen had done to him. “Alright. Go get her Jimmy!” Jimmy obeyed, but my dumb ass forgot to sit back down. I kept my balance for a bit as he charged forward and rammed his head into one of her legs, but as she tried to retaliate, and Jimmy lurched back to avoid it, he catapulted me into the air. I felt the familiar panic as vertigo set in and I plunged nearly twenty feet to the ground.

I managed to get my feet under me, and land in a roll, but there was pain everywhere, the wind was knocked out of me, and I definitely sprained my ankle. Putting any pressure on my left foot sent stabbing pains up my leg. I didn't have the luxury of thinking about my injuries. A few of the Queen’s broodlings had broken off from the fight with the others, and were skittering straight at me. It took all I had to ignore the pain from my ankle and fight them off with my sword. I killed three, but their bites were shattering my armor, and bruising me to no end. When the third one lay dead I turned back toward the Queen. Jimmy had latched onto her legs just like Miranda, but from the front. I tried to shout at him, but he was looking bleary. His whole body was open to her venomous bite. But she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at me. Two t-Rex's working to tear her legs off and she still chooses to target me, what are the odds?

By the time I looked it was to late, she fired a gob of green slime right at me. The impact knocked me off of my feet. The smell and fumes stung my eyes and nostrils, I felt stinging sensation wherever the stuff touched my skin, and I could hear it sizzling away at my armor. I coughed and wretched, but I got back to my knees. I managed to pull all the sizzling armor off of my torso, I'd worn a shirt this time, not that it mattered. I managed to get most of the acidic goop away from my skin before it did any real damage, but I was left almost defenseless.

With my leg in agony, dodging would be difficult too. I glanced back up at the Spider Queen. To my dismay, her obscene mandibles were now buried in Jimmy’s thigh. I scrambled over to where my rifle was, I don't think I've ever reloaded the thing so fast in my life. Even as I slid the bullet into place I knew Jimmy was fading fast. I really hope the Queen’s venom isn't toxic. I limped back to where I had a clear line of sight to the Queen’s ugly face, and took aim, but I got blind sided by more of her children before I could take the shot. One of them bit me. I felt the venom enter my blood, numbing my body. I whacked the spider with my gun. It hadn't gotten enough venom in me, all it managed to do was numb my arm, I fought them hard, but I didn't shoot, I needed the shot for the Queen, the spiny protrusions on their legs, cut through the flesh of my arms, but I fought on, finally pinning the last one down and stomping it's head into paste with my boot.

By the time I turned back to the Queen, Jimmy was already crumpling to the ground. The big lug still refused to relinquish his grip, and as he slid to the ground, he tore another of the Queen’s legs off and dragged it down with him. Miranda still held tight on her end, but the Queen was actively fighting her now. She wouldn't be able to hold on long.

In all of the excitement, I'd sort of tuned out my survival sense. I think the roaring had deafened my ears, and the pain and numbness had dulled my sense of touch. In any other situation, I'd have felt or heard what was coming next way earlier. But with my focus on trying to shoot the Queen in the face, before she shook Miranda off, I didn't even see Lindsay until she was right in front of me.

She came rocketing over me, and I mean over me, right over my head, faster than I've ever seen her move. She lowered her head and threw her shoulder forward, and slammed into the spider Queen with the force of a freight train. The resulting blow knocked her right off her legs, and sent her skidding across the cave floor on her belly. I noticed Miranda was still standing where she was, still holding the same spider leg in her mouth. The blow had torn it right off the Queen’s body. The Queen lay there, stunned, and now missing three legs. Lindsay didn't advance yet. First, she turned and lowered herself as much as she could to get eye level with me. For the first time in over a month, she looked straight into my eyes with her own. I stared back. I saw her pain, but I saw her will. She wanted to fight with me.

She barked at me to move after a second. I put a grateful hand on her head and stroked her, then I climbed up her leg and into her saddle. It had been a while since I'd ridden on Lindsay, but I wasn't worried. I strapped myself in, I yelled at Miranda to charge as she spat out the spider’s limb, then Lindsay and I charged together. Somehow the Queen was already struggling back to her feet, this bitch just didn't quit. I saw what she was doing and yelled for Lindsay to stop. Lindsay listened and watched, and when the Queen spat a green gob at her, she reared up onto her hind legs and used one of her arms to slap the gob down like Volleyball player with a spike.

She’d halted our charge though, and she was somehow keeping both of us at bay. She jabbed and stomped at Miranda with her massive legs. They were thick as tree trunks and lined with spiky chitin. Just “kicking” them at Miranda was enough to cut her and force her back.

I was about to try and plan a new strategy, but then… well, you can’t keep a good Meathead down. Jimmy had somehow roused himself. His steps were shaky, almost drunken. But he stomped forward anyway. No bitchy spider Queen was taking HIM out of the fight. Somehow he built up enough momentum for another incredible blow from his skull. He slammed into her unguarded left, and broke another of her legs apart. She only had one left on that side now. Three on the right. We had her. She was wounded, lopsided, and trapped. She tried to bite at Jimmy again, but he just stumbled away.

“MIRANDA! BITE! LEG!” Miranda was already on it. While the Queen lunged at Jimmy, she dashed in and grabbed one of the remaining legs. The Queen shifted her focus, trying to dislodge the beast pulling at her. “JIMMY!” He gave me a bleary stare. “BITE! LEG!” He obeyed. He grabbed the last remaining leg on his side. “REXES! PULL!” They each began pulling a spider leg in opposite directions. The Queen began to flail about as she lost all control. The Rexes had her helplessly suspended. She was strong though. She’d free herself before long. “Lindsay. Go for the head” We charged straight at her. Lindsay hoisted herself up onto her back legs as she ran and used both her forearms to grab at the Queen’s face. I heard her shriek in fury. We almost had her right there, but boy she was feisty when she was cornered. She finally managed to wrench herself free of Miranda, then she rammed herself into Jimmy, knocking him loose. But she didn’t quite get free of us. Lindsay’s claws had cracked right through the shotgun wound I’d given her earlier. As she frantically pulled herself away from us, I told Lindsay “PULL!” The results were pretty grotesque. We didn’t pull her WHOLE head off. Only most of her face. Most of the exoskeleton around her head shattered as Lindsay wrenched her claws through it.

Her roar became a sickening gurgle as she scuttled away from us, reeling in pain. I took a good look at the damage we’d done. We’d torn off half her legs, team “Less Big” was mopping up whatever broodlings were left, and now most of her head was missing. But I have to hand it to the Broodmother. She still didn’t quit. She tried spitting at us, but we’d torn away most of… whatever she was using to spit. All she managed was to spill thick green goop on the floor to mix with the yellow ichor oozing from her wounds. So she charged. “If that’s how you want to die, Bitch. Be my guest. JIMMY! MIRANDA! LINDSAY! CHARGE!”

If you were to put my three bigguns on a scale, and weigh them against the spider Queen, I’m honestly not sure which one would weigh more. My money is on the Spider though. That’s how big this bitch was. She made even three of the biggest predatory dinosaurs in the fossil record look small. But right now, she’d lost four legs, and had taken Jimmy’s skull, a shotgun shell, and Lindsay’s claws to the face. She was weakened. As a result… the charge was no contest. When all three of my crew charged at her, they easily halted her charge, and pushed her back. Before long they’d wrestled her to the ground, where the Rexes pinned her down. She kept thrashing and shrieking weakly at us, but she was done. “Lindsay, let me down.”

I climbed off of Lindsay, and slowly approached the helpless spider Queen. I kept away from what was left of her mouth. I… I honestly don’t know why I wanted to end it myself. Maybe it was for Sue, but I think… I really wanted to look at the Queen one more time. Her rancid stench, the lifeless, jelly-like eyes, the chittering sound she made. I’ve been haunted by her for long enough.

"You won't suffer long," I said to her, not that she cared. I jammed the barrel of my shotgun into her eye, and pulled the trigger. The Queen shrieked and convulsed, her remaining legs spasmed, but soon, she fell still. After kicking her a few times to make sure she was dead, I gave my friends one last command: "Eat!"

The predators set about trying to crack the Queen open. I didn’t stay and watch, I ran to check on my friends. Almost impossibly, they were all alive. Samson and Shea stood together, dripping with green ichor. Jimbo and Billy-Joe each had a dead spiderling in his mouth, which they shook about like dogs with chew toys. Bob, quite amusingly had no less than four different spiderlings shish-kebabed to each of his hands. He shook them about, trying to regain use of his fingers, but to no avail. Chewie and Cousin It sprinted from carcass to carcass, cracking open shells and shoveling spider meat into their mouths. Those boys really like bug.

All of them bore angry welts, and varying degrees of damage. All of them looked a bit woozy too. Who knows how many times they’d been bitten, but everyone was alive. We fucking won.

Once I checked on everyone, I ran over to what was left of Sue. I cried one more time for her. I told her I was sorry. That I messed up. That I was wrong. Her whimpers will haunt me until the day I die. I know that. But I hope she forgives me. I took one of her teeth. I want to use it to make… something. Something I can keep with me. As I knelt there with Sue’s bones, I heard Lindsay stomp up behind me. She lowered her head and snaked it along the ground to lay next to me. I wiped me tears away and smiled, as my friend leaned her head into me to nuzzle me, like she hadn’t done in weeks. I held her snout tight.

After a few somber minutes, the whole cavern suddenly filled with light, just like at the obelisk. I touched Sue’s skull one last time before we were whisked away, then we were back outside.

I glanced around, everyone was there, and looking rather confused. Miranda still had a huge green chunk of spider guts in her mouth. She swallowed it down as I scanned for the others. Jimmy was now passed the fuck out and sleeping peacefully. Everyone else seemed ok, if a bit fatigued. “Everyone! Rest!” I called. Considering most of them still had tranq venom in them, I doubt I needed to tell them twice. I turned towards the pedestal and almost shrieked. Sitting in front of me, was the head of the Spider Queen. It wasn't really, it was a replica. The back of it was smooth and flat. It seemed to be made of the same material as the artifacts. But the front of it was… startlingly realistic. It must be another key. It was mentioned in the various notes I found that defeating the guardians would provide you with another artifact. I’ve got one. Two to go. Until I find the others, I wouldn’t mind mounting this thing to my wall like a hunter’s trophy. You fucking lost you bitch.

There were other… rewards. There was a silvery chest that looked… almost entirely mechanical. Like a robot chest or some shit. It slid open with a “whoosh” and I gazed inside. There I found one useful thing, some unknown stuff, and one thing that hurt my head… a lot.

The useful thing appears to be some form of combustion engine. I mentioned a while ago that I had “engrams” for something called a “fabricator.” I was trying to construct the pieces, but I’d given up when it called for smithing things to make a working engine. I’m no engineer. It required skills and knowledge I didn’t have. Even with the instructions there, I just… couldn’t do it. But now I’d been given one. The “fabricator” was a possibility again… Though I haven’t the faintest what I’ll use for fuel.

The unknown stuff was… Well… unknown. It was some sort of blue shiny… plastic metal stuff? The surface of it glowed and almost seem to ripple. I ran my fingers along it, and I could almost feel a buzz, as though the material was pulsing with energy. I picked a piece of it up. It was lightweight, but at the same time it was incredibly hard and durable. What the hell was this stuff? I piled all of it into Miranda’s saddlebag. Whatever the stuff is… I know its something special.

Finally, came the thing that hurt my head… a lot. It was a note. A very strange note. It was printed on the same thick yellowy parchment paper I’ve been writing my journal in… but the text was… well… printed. Like off a typewriter. No hand wrote this. What it said was even weirder:

“ _Hello! I'm so glad that I can speak to you! I've been waiting and waiting, always waiting for something, but now I can wait for one less thing. That is to say, you - you're the thing.  
  
Yes, I mean you, you specifically. You're the one I'm talking to, and I don't mean that in a general sense. These thoughts aren't a guess, I didn't just let them float out into the world hoping they would find someone. They are calculated. Exact.  
  
You are not the only one who will hear them, but all who do are meant to. These words are for you and all your kin, those who awoke upon an island in the sky. Whether you will heed them or not, that is harder to know.”_

I… I still don’t know what to make of this. “Island in the sky?” What does that mean? Is this whole place some sort of… flying space station? And was this message… literally meant for me? If it was… Why was it so vague? What is this… person (?) waiting for exactly? I could only fall to my knees, hating the universe for putting me through this. My arm bled, my body ached, my ankle screamed, and my head swam, but I was just to mentally drained to care.

That's when something quite large nudged me in the back. I turned in surprise. It was Lindsay. She stepped forward and leaned her head down, the way she used to when she wanted me to scratch her jaw. So I did, and then I threw my arms around her snout and hugged her for all I was worth.

Lindsay loves me again. That’s made me happiest. Maybe she understood now that I hadn't meant for Sue to die. I hadn't tamed Jimmy and Miranda to replace her. I hadn't just forgotten about her or thrown her away. She'd died fighting for me, and now we'd avenged her. That's what I'm going to assume her feelings were at least.

I got everyone's wounds tended too, I helped Bob get the dead spiders off his hands, then I fed everyone, then I hugged and loved on all of them. Every single one of them had been amazing. Jimmy, who remained asleep though it all, had the right idea. I built us a fire, and we slept there for the night. It took us two days to get home. Despite the injury to my ankle, I'd planned to walk beside my friends like I had before, but Lindsay was having none of that. She stuck her snout between my legs and lifted me right off the ground just to prove to me she was serious. I'm not complaining. She's a comfy ride. So that's that story. We beat the spider Queen with no casualties. I have the first of three keys out of this place, I have a new cryptic clue, and I have new tech to play with, but more importantly I have closure. I have to find the rest of the artifacts now, but that’s another day’s problem.

Last night, the night I got home, after saying hello to all my friends and making sure everyone was alive, I went straight to sleep again. I had a dream. Sue was there… wearing glasses for some reason. I’m choosing to believe it was her final goodbye. I’m low on paint, other than blue… but I think I captured the moment. Rest in peace my friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It happens way to often... I accidentally hit "dismount" when I meant to hit "attack"


	8. Entry 40: Vacation Calling Out to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne takes some time to have some fun.

I was starting to wonder if I'd ever feel like writing again. It's been almost a month since our battle with the spider Queen. Sorry for the lurch forward in time, oh reader of questionable existence. 

I've spent most of that time on a vacation of sorts. Whatever time I don't spend maintaining the homestead and gathering supplies, I spend tinkering alone or playing with my friends. I’m absolutely refusing to worry about the artifacts. It’s all about me, my friends, making us more comfortable and having some damn fun. 

I alternate around so I get some playtime with everyone. I joined Slayer the scorpion in wrestling the Dilos and the Compys. I played hide and seek with a lot of the mid-sized creatures, Samson and Shea seem to love this game. I'll approach and tell them "find me!" They'll wait sometimes (and sometimes they cheat and just watch me) while I hide and then they'll come find me. Azalea and the other Iguanodon’s as well as Bob seem to like this game too. The Raptors, Lindsay, and the Rex's play a little too intensely for me. I tried joining their game of chase and almost got stomped on 8 different times. Lovecraft the frog likes to play tag with the dolphins whenever they're around. They just swim around each other, bopping one another when they get close. It might be tag, but it might also be some form of bumper cars.

After a week of that, I started wishing I had a dock so I could get closer to my new water friends without swimming… So, naturally, my next building project was to build a dock. Bob helped me gather the lumber. Building it wasn’t easy. I built a multitude of pillars with stone, mortared together with “frog spit.” I got really good at holding my breath during that time. I had to swim down, dig into the sand as deep as I could, and fit the pillars into the spaces. Once the pillars were up and secured to the sea floor I nailed a latticework of wood together to make the platform area. I’m pretty damn proud of the final result. It’s L-shaped, and strong enough for the Iguanodons to walk on… though I didn’t exactly ask them to stress test it. Good thing I got the design right… It’s got a little ramp at the end, that lets me walk right down to the water. I have a feeding trough there that the waters keep relatively cool, so I can store some food there to throw to Kas and the dolphins. Kas is a fan of the dock. He seems to think it’s a theater or something. If he sees me there he’ll get as close as he can and lift his head out of the water, sometimes getting close enough to knock me off my feet (or in one case, off the dock). Once he has my attention, he’ll breach, and twirl and jump for me. It might also be that he just loves splashing me… 

With my new dock, part of my morning routine is now a pleasant walk in the cool morning breeze, to the water to toss meat chunks to delighted sea creatures, which almost always ended with me getting sprayed. Sometimes it also involves a refreshing dip. After that, a walk to my gardens of fruits, veggies, and berries to gather up breakfast for myself, and my herbivores, and after that, I head back to the meat shed to gather snacks for the predators. For the rest of the day, I do as I please.

I spent a good week just playing with my friends during that time, which were mostly games of chase. But then I saw Harriet and Horace, the Dilo’s, playing tug-a-war with a stick… and it hit me… Dinosaur toys. Why the hell didn’t I think of it earlier? I started simple with a ball. I used “frog spit,” sand and some shaping tools to make myself a few sanding blocks. After that, I got myself a chunk of wood, from the trees across the river. That stuff isn't as dense as palm wood or the stuff in the swamp. It’s a bit more… cork-y? Anyway, I used my sander to smooth the wood chunk down into as smooth a sphere as I could get it. Even with the better wood, it hurt to kick it, at least for me, but it was lightweight. To soften it some, I slathered it in paste and applied patches of leather to it. The end result resembled an ugly, misshapen, soccer ball that didn't roll very well or very far.

All the same, the Raptors stole it. They whacked it with their noses, and then go chasing after it, sometimes they'll roll it to each other, sometimes one of them grabs it up in their jaws and runs away, forcing the others to chase it down, and sometimes they’ll pick it up and fling it for others to chase. They spent hour’s dicking around with that ball. It was rather fun to watch honestly. Sometimes Lindsay and the Rex’s got involved, but they have trouble keeping track of it. During one of those games, Miranda accidentally stepped on it. It almost broke my heart to see Bluejay attempt to roll the splintery remains. Thankfully, I was making more.

I planned the next one out and cut pieces of thick leather beforehand. Once I got the sphere sanded, I pasted the octagonal shapes onto it. The end result looked a lot smoother than the first. The Raptors adored it. Feeling bad for the bigger guys though, I started making another one and just… didn’t stop. I keep rolling this thing in frog spit to make it bigger. Over the course of a month it’s grown to be as tall as me. That was when I finally let them start playing with it. I had to break a wall down to get it through the door. The Rex's eyed the big ball with interest. I rolled it down the hill and into Lindsay's little pool where it splashed and floated. The Rex's didn't need to be shown what to do. Soon they were rolling their ball up and down the inlet. The next day, Lindsay, the Trikes, Snugglebug, and many others were all chasing the big ball and rolling it about with unbridled glee. Sometimes they rolled it into the sea, where they'd watch forlornly until Lindsay swam out and retrieved it. I made some more small balls for the others to play with, and even tied one to a length of rope and tied it to the dock so the dolphins had something to bop around. 

I’ve also made a bunch of chew-toys the small carnivores are fond of. You may have noticed readers, that I talk a lot about using rope, but I never really explained that. I weave a bit of fibrous rope almost every day. It’s something my dad taught me. Rope is an invaluable survival tool. So it never hurts to have plenty of it, and there’s no shortage of plants (Although my hands are almost eighty percent callouses at this point). For the chew-toys, I just weaved some rope a lot thicker. To get them to figure out what to do with it, I soaked it in juice from the meat trough. The Raptors are… amusingly polite about chew-time. I’ve made three of the chew-ropes so far, and whichever three Raptors grab one first, gets roughly fifteen minutes with it, before they pass it to another Raptor and patiently wait their turn to chew again. I didn’t even train them to do that. It’s just… how they play with chew-toys apparently.

Lastly, I used a bunch of rope and wood to make a big intricate play space for all my little ones. There’s a little maze, climbable stairs, boxes, a jungle gym, and lots of little nooks and crannies for them to hide in or explore. The Compy’s and Diddy adore it. I made it so I can open parts of it and leave treats in there for them to find. That was the original plan anyway… until a few started sleeping in it. 

So there’s been lots of laughs, and yummy meals and cool nights resting by a warm bonfire with all my loving friends. I haven't been all fun and games however. I have been tinkering with things that will help me stay alive. The biggest project has been assembling the "fabricator" from the blueprints I found. I’ve got my new engine figured out, and I’m working on assembling the pieces of the actual machine itself. The end result looks like it incorporates a lathe, a press, heating… all kinds of stuff that can create and shape. Making bullets will be a snap with this thing. No more hammering tubes until they’re hollow. There are all kinds of chambers and doohickeys in it, and honestly the purpose of some escapes me. Once I get it all assembled and wired, and as soon as I figure out what I can use to fuel the engine, I'll definitely experiment, hopefully without losing any fingers.

I've also built up a nice supply of rifle and shotgun bullets. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at hammering those out. 

I still have the occasional nightmare, and I still ache for human contact… but I’m doing better. Soon I’ll be ready to take the Raptors exploring again. It’ll be nice to feel wind in my hair again (along with the occasional bug to the face). I’ve got one artifact for the Blue Obelisk so far, so I need two more of those, and then I need to find three for the Red Obelisk. I've found locations for one other cave, but it's filled with gas that's poisonous to me, so I'll have to figure that out. I still need to find the locations for four other caves. They're on this island somewhere. 

The blue Obelisk is located up north. To the north is snow. I still can't get over that; Snowy terrain sitting a few hundred yards from tropical rainforest. I'll need to find a way to keep warm there. Thankfully, the redwood forest has plenty of mammalian creatures just eager to try to eat me, then die, and then I get to take their pelts... so that will likely be another project. But first, I just want to explore and get the details of my map filled in. Until then though… maybe another night of drinking won’t hurt now that I’m in a better mood.

\- 

Duuuude! I’m a pretty tipsy. But I had to record this. I started singing… It happens when you’re a musician and you drink… and the Parasaurs sang with me!!! Well, really they just trumpeted… But that was really cool. Things really aren’t so hopeless. Still wish I had beautiful cabana boys though… Or girls. Or someone who identifies differently. Everyone’s hot. Including my face… I should sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still want to build Dino-Toys in that game.


	9. Entry 41: What a Psycho...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne's latest expedition uncovers new clues, and new terror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went with a bit of Halloween spirit for this one.

Ho boy. This island just will not cut me a break. Forgive me readers, but the events of the last week and a half have left me bruised, exhausted, and bleeding… again. They’ve also left me frustrated, and a bit depressed.

A week or so ago, I was getting everything ready for an exploratory expedition with my Raptors. I could tell everyone was excited for it. Hawk ran to everyone on the homestead just to excitedly “caw” at them after I slipped her saddle/armor on her, Crow was almost vibrating, Bluejay, Finch, and Robin were all hopping up and down the beach, and Raven… well… Raven had about ten minutes of overexcited energy to burn off before I could get the rest of her saddle settled. I could only laugh and smile all morning as I got saddlebags packed and the homestead secure. Lindsay and the Iguanadons were the only ones who came to see us off. Everyone else was too busy stomping after their toys. Lindsay lowered herself down and slipped her head right up to my chest so I could give her a big goodbye hug. “Keep this place safe,” I whispered. She grunted in reply. I whistled to Diddy, who scampered up my shoulder, it never hurts to have a an extra pair of fuzzy eyes. Then off we went. I’ll draw up a close approximation of the route we took, but I didn’t really have a route planned.

First, I took us west, to do more thorough sweeps of Cragg Island, the Southern Jungle, and the Western approach. All was going smooth for the first two days. We dodged some predators, and scared away some others. Diddy could always sense them coming, which is good, becaue my “survivor sense” is a bit less effective on a speeding Raptor.

On “Cragg Island” I found some of Helena’s dino dossiers, but it was nothing I hadn’t figured out already. I was right that these Raptors are Utahraptors though. No caves around there sadly. So we crossed the river, dodging monster Piranha’s the whole way, and made our way to the Red Obelisk. This one’s right on the beach, and the crater below it is filled with ocean (and while I was there, one Megaladon that just… swam in circles).

We hunted down dinner, and I set up a fire for the night, not too far from the Obelisk’s glow. After a good day of excersize and plenty to eat, we were all happy to snuggle up by a fire. I’d pitched a tent, just to give myself a sense of security… but when I woke up, Raven had stuffed as much of herself into it as she could so she could rest her head next to me. I swear shes like an oversized murderous housecat… or just a regular housecat. The Raptor’s were fine with a small breakfast that morning. They can last a day or two on one full meal. Diddy and I gorged ourselves on some wild berries, and then we were off again.

We did a slow and steady run, zigzagging our way around the area called “The Southern Jungle.” The jungle itself is thick and a bit scary. We almost ran right into an angry Therizinosaur. If it weren’t for Bob, I’d despise those things. We managed to get away without any trouble. We found a few more notes from Rockwell and Helena, as we made our way through the trees, but nothing really interesting was written there. Helena met Mei Yin, and asked to study her dino army. Rockwell mentioned a spelunking expedition (but of course made no mention of “where”), and that was all. We were about three quarters of the way across the “Southern Jungle” area when… well… Suffice it to say there was a dramatic shift in tone. We stumbled upon a massacre.

I smelled it first. That acrid, wofting, coppery smell of blood that’s just starting to rot. I thought it was just the remains of a big predator’s meal at first, but out of curiosity, I turned us towards it. I saw the clearing from a distance. There was blood everywhere. I got off Raven, but whistled for all six of them to stay close to me. They were oddly quiet as we stepped forward. There were four Raptors, a whole pack, all dead, but not just dead.

Living and hunting on this island, you get desensitized to brutal death. Predators gotta eat, sometimes they leave behind some ugly messes. Hell, I dug out a pig’s intestines and organs and fed them to my Raptors just a day earlier. It barely phases me anymore. But this was different. There’s a difference between a predator and… a psychopath. Each body was battered and broken in unique ways. Some looked like they’d been stabbed repeatedly. Some had broken limbs splayed at unnatural angles. One of them was even missing its head. But they all had one thing in common; their torsos were torn open, then emptied of their organs, which were tossed haphazardly about their bodies like grotesque lawn ornaments.

I examined them all a bit more closely just trying to figure out what the fuck went on here. The smell of the place, the macabre way the corpses were left, the fact that… not much was missing… if anything. It was familiar to me… Whatever did this wasn’t hunting for food. It was killing just for the hell of it. Not just killing either. The Raptor missing its head? That thing was TORN off. Something pulled as hard as it could until the poor thing’s neck couldn’t hold on anymore. It would have been dead long before that. There was no reason to do it outside of pure fury... or sadism. I’ve seen behavior like this once before. Ghost. He was the only one that made this sort of mess without even bothering to eat what he killed half the time. This was no Rex though. Judging by the stab wounds, tracks, and bite marks I found, my best guess for what did this… was another Raptor.

A Raptor, with Ghost’s… condition. It scared the hell out of me. Judging by how wide-eyed and quiet my pack was, it scared them too. A Raptor would be a hell of a lot harder to see coming than Ghost was. So that put a damper on the rest of the day. I got us moving pretty fast after that. It was well past noon, and I suddenly didn’t feel safe in the low visibility of the jungle… So we booked it North, and with sunset very close, we made it out of the trees.

The last time I came this way, I’d turned east towards the volcano, so I’d never really explored the area known as “The Western Approach.” We found ourselves on the top of a promontory that jutted out into the Western sea. Some might say it trapped us, what with there only being one way down, but frankly, I felt safer knowing where danger was coming from. The Raptors already sleep in shifts to keep watch when we’re traveling, and we have Diddy. If that… thing, or something else found us, we’d spot it, and we could fight it. I didn’t have guns when I fought Ghost. The damned things may be tough and sadistic, but I doubt they’ll get back up after getting shot in the face. So up we went.

If you ever find yourself in that area… it’s beautiful, almost whimsically so. From on top of the promontory, I had a clear view of the massive volcano to the east. Just north of us, at the bottom of the cliffs we were on, was this beautiful stretch of beach that was split in two by a roaring waterfall. The sun was close to setting, bathing the area in golden light. A herd of Parasaurs circled up and bedded down together, adding to the serenity of the scene.

I stared for roughly an hour, letting the beauty calm me down after the horror in the jungle. Only when I had my breathing back under control did I turn my gaze further north. From here, we had a clear line of sight to the Blue Obelisk miles away, floating above an icy mountain. How is it that this beautiful beach sits so close to sparkling snowy tundra? The image looks… so strange. I’m reasonably sure this place isn’t natural, but I wonder if this happens naturally too? Can there be an isolated pocket of ice at roughly the same elevation as a beach with only a mile or two between them? I built a fire for the Raptors, but I took Raven out alone for a bit. I just wanted to see the waterfall up close and maybe jog north a bit. We carefully made our way down the cliffs, avoiding the attention of the sleeping Parasaurs, and sprinted across the shallow rushing waters a few hundred yards from the falls. Gods it was beautiful. I almost lost myself in the beauty again, but then I suddenly felt a gust of arctic wind blow towards us.

It was gone as quickly as it had arrived, but it definitely wasn’t the sort of thing you expect to feel on a sunlit beach, but then, neither is the big blue obelisk, or a freaking completely different biome, sitting a mile away in plain sight. I had Raven take us a bit further north, over a sand bar, as an experiment. It’s bizarre. It doesn’t feel cold at all when you’re standing on the beach, even if you’re only fifty feet away. You'll still feel the occasional arctic breeze blowing towards you from that direction, but you won't feel icy cold until you walk across some sort of invisible line, and the second you do, it's like the temperature drops by like fifty degrees and suddenly you’re freezing. I ran back and forth just to confirm it. There seriously is some sort of “cold curtain.” The chill was a bit much for Raven and I, so we headed back towards camp, where I warmed up by the fire, and pondered how the hell such a phenomena was possible.

Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any more whimsy… one more thing made its presence known. I was literally shaken from my contemplative staring by tremors in the earth. I felt them with my butt, even wearing leather pants. I jumped to my feet and got my survivor sense working. The tremors had roused a few of my dozing Raptors, but they didn’t seem afraid. I got my palm to the ground.

The tremors were huge, and not too far away either. Based on the pattern, I knew it was a quadruped. Whatever it was was moving closer but not quite towards me. It seemed to be heading towards beaches south of me. At first I thought maybe it was a wandering Brontosaurus, but as the tremors got closer, it became clear this was something else. Something bigger. What the hell is bigger than a god damned Bronto? Then a deep but gentle bellow echoed through the evening, like a blue whale or something… but one that walked on land. Out of sheer terrified curiosity, I waited to see if this mighty creature would appear.

It did. It was a few hundred yards away from our promontory where it emerged, but even from that distance, the sheer size and scope of the thing was just... Staggering. The first thing i saw was a bored looking head appear above the treeline, hovering 80 feet off the ground, attatched to a massive neck that could have spanned a football field on its own. After peering around, the beast trudged forward. I watched, slack jawed as it walked calmly through the jungle, snapping fully-grown trees like twigs with its massive girth. It was a long neck sauropod, like a Brontosaurus, but about twice the size. Watching the beast lumber onto the beach I could tell, that if Jimmy Meathead stood next to it, he wouldn't stand any higher than its knee.

It's... an awesome... humbling sight. Its massive frame finally exited the trees and it turned south, trudging down the beach, one ponderous step at a time. The flesh on it’s back almost looked rocky, and it was all colored brown. Its hide must have been thick. On occasion it would stop, lean its massive neck down and open its mouth to engulf roughly a glade’s worth of vegetation from the trees of the jungle. I watched the incredible creature until the sun set, and all I could see was a massive moving shadow (And that was only the FIRST giant I saw during this trip…).

It could only have been a Titanosaurus. But the thing is, as far as my knowledge goes… whether or not this thing existed was up for debate, as fossil records on it were dubious. It was theorized a certain fossil belonged to a massive sauropod. But I thought it had been dismissed. This creature shouldn't exist. Yet there it was. As far as i can tell, they aren't hostile, but that's likely only because they won’t even notice you. I'd avoid them. They stomp right over anything that's in front of them. Again it's not out of aggression, it simply doesn't notice the smaller creatures under its feet. I wish I could have brought one of these to see the spider Queen. He'd have stomped her into pulp without breaking a sweat. I doubt he could fit in that cavern though, much less reach the platform. What an incredible sight. So with a murderous Raptor, a beautiful landscape, a natural impossibility, and living breathing Titan swirling around in my head, I made camp and bedded down for the night. Luckily, we slept without incident.

We awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed, but it seems the sadistic Raptor struck again while we were sleeping. I gazed down into the serene little valley with the waterfall, and found a bloodbath. The herd of Parasaurs had been attacked. They hadn’t tried to fight like the Raptors had. I could only see three corpses from where we were, but they raised more troubling implications.

They were spaced out by a hefty distance. I’m guessing the Raptor (I’m just gonna call it “Psycho”) pounced on the first one while it was sleeping, and tore its throat open. I could see those details through my spyglass. The noise had roused the other Parasaurs, whom had fled. Psycho must have given chase and brought down the second as it fled, then the third as well. But here’s the creepy part. The bodies were still eviscerated. There’s no way it could have dealt killing blows and also torn their torso’s open fast enough to keep the chase going. No. Psycho had dealt killing blows, and chased the survivors, then, presumably when it was done killing, it had come back to tear open the bodies. I can only hope that a few of the Parasaurs escaped, but honestly, I’m more hoping they lead that monster away from us.

Sadly… they did not. For the rest of the day, I kept seeing signs of it. I decided to turn east. I wasn't going any further north until I finished making myself some fur clothes to keep warm. We moved passed the volcano and moved northeast, making our way towards the mountain called "the frozen tooth." It didn’t look particularly snowy, so I'm not sure what's frozen about it, but I digress. As we made our way towards the mountain, we found multiple mangled bodies. On more than one occasion, I swore I smelled the foul stench of death coming from somewhere in the trees, but if there was a hostile creature, my friends didn’t sense it.

We finally reached the base of the mountain and made camp. That evening was rough. Right when the fire began to die and we were all falling asleep, Diddy shrieked. He didn’t stop hooting all night. The Raptors got all worked up over time, as though they sensed something too, but nothing ever attacked, and I could never see anything. I could swear I heard twigs snapping, and I could definitely smell that smell. But it never got close enough to spot. Like it was toying with us. This went on for hours. I fired my rifle into the darkness a few times just hoping to scare it off. Right when I was sure I couldn’t take the tension anymore, something came sailing out of darkness, and landed right next to me. I cringed when I examined it. It was a dead, headless, monkey. Same species as Diddy I’m guessing.

That proved it. Not only was Psycho, aware of us, it was hunting us. Now it was sending us a message. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence at all that we kept finding that thing’s messes. The thing had followed from one side of the island to another. I’ve got no reason to believe it’ll stop. I searched and searched but it had fled into the night, leaving only that rancid death stench in its wake. I didn’t get much sleep that night. I don’t think any of us did.

I got a few hours at least, and I shared a hearty meal with my pack to try and reenergize us for the day. My plan was to explore the mountain, then get the hell away and hope we could escape from the elusive Psycho.

I hadn't explored a whole lot around the “Frozen Tooth” so I was cautiously excited to get a chance to poke around here. We spent a few hours traversing the rocks and crags and exploring. We were all tired, and I would have considered quitting early and camping out on the mountain, if it weren’t for one thing… (besides the murderous Raptor). As we circled the mountain, I kept feeling tremors. Something big was stomping around those rocky slopes.

The higher up the mountain I went, the more frightened I became. I hadn't spotted what was making the tremors, but I could tell it was a biped, and the longer I listened, the scarier it seemed to be. We reached a high vantage point, where I found some ruins and more explorer notes, which lead to… a very disheartening discovery, but I didn’t realize it at the time… we’ll talk about those later. Before I could read them, I heard a grumble. It was the sort of deep sound that speaks to every human’s ancient primal instinct to get the hell away from big scary predators. I stuffed the notes into Raven’s saddlebags, dismounted, and slowly and quietly made my way to the edge of the rocks we were standing on so I could peer down the mountain, where I thought the sound originated. As I scanned the rocks, part of the freaking mountain moved.

What are the freaking odds that I meet not one, but two gargantuan creatures that dwarf everything I've seen during the same freaking excursion? It's like they were conjured from the ether when the spider Queen died. How hadn't I seen these earlier? The long-neck from earlier was easily the bigger of the two, but this one was still terrifying large, and this one had much sharper teeth. Picture a T. Rex, with a proportionally smaller head, then give it slightly longer, usable, arms instead of the nearly vistigil limbs of a Rex, now imagine that creature is twice the size of Rex, over twenty feet all, and thirty feet long easily. That's what I was looking at. If I had to guess, I'd say this thing was a Giganotosaurus based on the shape of its head. From what I remember back home, scientists were still debating the size of that creature. Some believed it was about the same size as a Rex, others believed it would be slightly bigger, but nobody guessed it would be THIS big. No predator that size had ever been discovered, as far as I know.

I watched in awe for a bit. It's hard to tear yourself away from something like that. It combines the visceral fascination of a car wreck, with the impending terror and absolute majesty of seeing a large animal. It was a brownish green color, and I almost laughed out loud (somehow) when it turned its head and I got a look at it’s face. Don’t get me wrong readers… The size and apparent power of this thing was pants-shittingly scary…, but if you look at its teeth and jaws a certain way… I swear it looks like it has a big derpy grin on its face. You wouldn’t catch me laughing at its face mind you…

Remembering that I also had a murderous Raptor to escape, I tore myself away from the cliff and me and the Raptors got the hell away from that mountain. If you see one of those things yourself, I would recommend running. That thing could make Meathead its bitch if it wanted to.

Despite our exhaustion, we ran over an hour, and crossed a river. By the time we stopped we’d reached an area called “Smugglers Pass.” It’s a rocky, foresty area north of the Green Obelisk. It’s basically these two massive plateues with a river flowing through the middle, making a big… smuggler’s pass… I made camp on the shores of the river. We were all pretty zonked so we slept soundly. I guess that’s how Psycho managed to set its trap.

I don’t know what time it was, but my fire was embers, and it was completely dark when I heard a gurgle that wrenched me from sleep. A horrid scent assaulted my nostrils that stank of death and decay. I lurched out of my tent and searched the area, but all I saw was a strange shadow fleeing into the night, accompanied by the sound of something being dragged. I quickly counted how many friends were there with me. One, two, three, four, five… Bluejay was missing. “Shit…” I whistled as loud as I could as gathered up my weapons and got my armor back on. I was panicked and exhausted though. I didn’t grab everything. I managed to get a torch lit with the embers of my fire, and when the Raptors and I charged into the darkness, I hadgrabbed my important only my shotgun, my rifle, my sword, my spear, and maybe half my armor. Even worse, somehow I forgot to grab my ammo bags. That meant I only had two shells in my shotgun and one in the rifle. I’ve faced worse odds. I wasn’t about to let another friend die without a fight.

We didn’t have to travel far. Bluejay was lying in the open, near some trees. He was still moving, and he was definitely hurt. I fought the urge to sprint to him and make sure he was okay. This was definitely a trap. Psycho was about to make a move… We were at a massive disadvantage. It was dark, and we were all tired. Furthermore, my human eyes suck in the dark. My torch wasn’t going to be much help. Even with my survivor’s sense, spotting this thing would be a challenge. Bluejay was hurt though. Possibly dying. I had one silly idea, and I went for it. I whistled for the Raptors to stay with me, then I circled around the perimeter, stopping periodically to light a bush on fire. Once I was satisfied with light level… I sprung the trap myself. I slowly moved away from my Raptors and towards Bluejay. Psycho didn’t waist any time. With the dancing firelight, it was hard to spot at first, but firelight can mess with the eyes of nocturnal hunters. I wasn’t sure if that applied to Raptors or not… but it definitely threw off Psycho. I spotted its massive shadow sprinting out of the flaming foliage and twisted towards it, shotgun at the ready. As the gleaming thing leapt into the air, I fired. The blast halted the beast’s momentum and caused it do a full flip as it fell to the ground in a heap... only to spring immediately back to its feet.

I got my first real look at our elusive stalker. She was terrifying. Like Ghost, she was an almost unnaturally white palor that looked yellow in the firelight. She was also covered, from head to toe in vicera and blood. Her greenish feathers were blackened with gore as well. Her eyes radiated malice and intelligence. She wasn’t like the brutish Ghost. She was a bit more clever. She’d been stalking us for days, employing psychological tactics even. But I outsmarted her this time. That didn’t mean I won though. That just meant we were going to have to fight her toe to toe… and now my shotgun was empty…

She was just like Ghost in another way too. She didn’t let grievous injury slow her down. Getting shot messed her up. I’d blasted her right in the torso… But she ignored that, snarled and came right at me. I whistled for my Raptors to attack, but for a few harrowing seconds… I fought Psycho alone. I threw down my shotgun and wrenched out my spear, thrusting into her chest as she came sprinting at me full speed, even with my feet planted, she pushed us both back a good ten feet before she swiped at me with her claws and knocked me loose from my spear. I rolled away and desperately dug out my blade. I glanced back in time to see her fling my spear away and leap at me, toe claws extended. I dove just as those toes landed where my throat had been. I pushed myself to my feet and swung my blade at her, cutting into her neck, but she ignored that too, and seized me with her claws. Next thing I knew I was staring down her throat. I turned my head just as her jaws closed, so her teeth only gripped my chiton helmet. Something crashed into both of us seconds later. I was thrown to the ground, and my helmet was ripped off. I scrambled to retrieve my blade and get to my feet. My savior was Hawk. Raven was right behind her.

Psycho overpowered them both, and with a front kick, she sent Hawk sprawling, before turning her eyes on Raven. Then Crow arrived and leapt straight onto the wild Raptor’s back. For a normal Raptor this might have been a deathblow. Crow is a healthy sized Raptor with plenty of muscle on him. When he jumped on something, they felt it, often times he dragged them helplessly to the ground. Psycho barely flinched, even as Crows sickle claws dug into her sides. She barely even registered the extra weight. She just... shifted to the side slightly when he hit her. How strong is this thing?

Without even having to move her feet, she whipped her head around, and grabbed one of Crows arms in her mouth, and, using only her jaws, she wrenched him right off her back and flung him to the ground, all in one solid motion. The other Raptors arrived as Crow struggled on the ground. They fought smart. This wasn't an ordinary Raptor fight, and they knew it.

They rushed in and out, taking turns, always aiming for Psycho’s blind side. I scrambled away to avoid colliding with one of them. As I moved a pained shriek stopped me in my tracks. Psycho was ignoring the attacks of the others. She’d walked over to Crow and pinned him down with a foot. She was now digging her sickle claw into his hip. Even as Finch and Robin slammed into her, she just stood there. In seconds, she would chomp down on his neck. I fired my rifle in a panic; I wasn't about to lose Crow. I hit the Alpha square in the chest, but her only reaction was to flinch at the noise and pause for a second to look at me. It freaking shrugged off gunshots.

Thankfully, that brief pause ended up being all I needed. Raven apparently doesn't take too kindly to other creatures trying to hurt her papa. With a shriek of fury, she charged in from the side. Shes only slightly bigger than Crow, but see, she's faster, and she's got a lot more muscle to her. In her fury, which only seemed to make her even faster, her charge actually sent the Alpha sprawling, knocking it clear of Crow. She didn't stop there. She kept up a relentless assault. She and Psycho stood face to face, kicking and snapping at one another, dodging swipes, and hopping back and forth seeking an opening. I was reminded of a martial arts display. Despite the Alpha looking a good deal bigger and stronger than she was, Raven matched it blow for blow. In the end, Raven proved to have better footwork.

The Alpha missed a step, and Raven didn't give her any time to recover, she lurched forward and seized the Alpha’s head in her jaws. By this time I'd dropped my gun and got back to my sword, I was just waiting for an opening. as Raven put all her strength into yanking the Alpha around, I inched forward, until finally Raven yanked the Alpha off its feet and hurled her to the ground, and that’s when I struck. As it's body collided hard with the dirt, I swung my blade for all I was worth. After the first blow, the damned thing sprung back to its feet to gurgle angrily through its new gushing neck wound. My second blow cut straight through Psycho’s neck and sent her head flying into flaming shrubbery. I almost stopped and smirked… but to my shock, the bitch’s headless body still stood there. It even raised an arm and swiped at me. I lurched back but it still dragged a claw across my cheek. Then Robin barreled into the body, knocking it back down, and all of my Raptors went about tearing it apart.

I had to take a second to remind myself I wasn’t in some paranormal horror movie… Right? That was just a death spasm… One that cut my cheek enough to leave another scar on my face. I shook off my shock and sprinted toward’s Bluejay. I think Psycho had dragged him by the throat and wrenched him around. He was bleeding from multiple wounds to his throat and was struggling to move and breath. Thankfully, his neck wasn’t broken, just injured. I wrapped his neck wounds tight and kept close eye on him all night. He’s ok. I also had to check on Crow. Despite his wound, he was sniffing and chirping at Raven. I couldn't help but wonder what he was saying. Was he saying "good job daughter! You saved my life!”? Was he saying "that was a stupid thing to do Daughter! You could have been hurt!"? Was he saying "you got any food on you?" For some reason, in my inner monologue, Crows voice sounds like Channing Tatum… I watched the Raptors interact curiously, until Raven trotted off to chitter with Robin.

Crows wounds weren't too bad. Psycho’s sickle claw had pierced his thigh but not too terribly deep. Pretty sure he'd stabbed me worse when he and I first met. "See? That's what it feels like!" I remember saying with a smile as I patched him up. The sun would rise before I was sure everyone’s injuries were healing. The fires I started had burnt themselves out. I’d wisely avoided any dense foliage. Once Bluejay was up and walking, I moved us back to Smugglers pass, where we spent the whole day healing, sleeping, and bonding. I didn’t even bother reading any of the new notes I’d picked up. I managed to keep myself awake most of the day, but by a few hours after noon, I couldn’t stay standing. I slept like a freaking rock for almost fourteen hours.

I really don't know what the deal is with these "alphas" as I've been calling them. I thought it was a phenomenon limited only to Ghost. It turns out, whatever was up with him can affect other species as well. Raptors, Maybe Carnos, I'm sure there's more. They're bigger, faster, meaner, and a billion times more dangerous than normal dinosaurs. Don't bother trying to tame one either. They only seem to understand violence. Maybe it's a disease of some kind? Mutation? I don't know. Fighting an alpha is harrowing, don't expect to bring one down without taking a few hits.

That was last interesting thing to happen for a time. When we woke up the next day, I was determined to end this expedition and get home. We made our way down towards the Redwood forest, sneaking around danger the whole way. We made it there without incident and I set up that night’s camp. That was when I read the notes which offered some good news… but overall just left me frustrated. Firstly, Helena spoke of a small Island, populated entirely by carnivores. Sounds like a freaking party right? Well it’s a party I’ll have to attend, because according to Helena, one of the caves is on that island. On the one hand, great, I’ve got a location for another artifact, but on the other hand… how the fuck was I supposed to reach an island? How the fuck was I supposed to survive on an island of carnivores?

But that’s not even the best part. The other notes I read, also Helena’s, talked of a tribe that called themselves “The Painted Sharks.” They were a naval tribe that apparently tamed sharks and used them to find resources in the sea. But here’s the kicker. These “Painted Sharks” found not one, but TWO artifacts somewhere underwater. Really? Fuck this. Now I have to go diving in an ocean where the most common thing to see is a Shark that could swallow a car? I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I guess I’m going to have to build a boat or something… but how can I get underwater? Even with a fabricator, I can’t just magically produce scuba gear. Even if I could… giant fucking sharks. I was in a bad mood for the rest of the night, and the rest of the trip. Thankfully we made it home without any trouble the next day and I got a warm welcome from Snugglebug and Lindsay.

I need a bit of time to process all I’ve learned. There’s collosal beasts that dwarf all the others, there’s more than one type of “Alpha” and who knows how many there are, and I need to figure out how to explore underwater… Ugh. I need a drink…


	10. Entry 42: Nautical Nonsense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month or two goes by as Rayne tries to progress

I’m going to be limiting my writing for a while. I’ve got a lot of crafting and gathering (and even more crafting) to do. I need to get the “fabricator” finished. I’ve got all the metal I need, but smelting and smithing it all into the right shapes is taking… too fucking long. I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit terse for the next month or so, oh reader of questionable existence. The expedition was informative but its left me rather pissed off if I’m being honest.

I’ll go ahead and explain why just to get it out of my system. I’ve been here over a year. Probably close to two years now. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my time here… and the more I do, the more convinced I am that I’ve got some shithead puppetmaster pulling at my strings. The main evidence of that? Guess what engrams appeared in my wrist implant? A boat and freaking scuba gear. Exactly the shit I discovered I needed a few days ago. I can make the boat with what I’ve got now, but the scuba gear will require the fabricator. I plan on doing a lot of gathering and crafting for a while. I’ll also keep myself going with painting and playing. So be prepared to skip ahead a bit. Lord only knows how long its going to take me to get all this shit done.

-

Hey puppet master. I’m drunk, and I’ve got something to say to you. Fuck you. Fuck you with a big dirty Titanosaur cock. All the hours I've spent breaking my back working, sprinting for my life, killing things, and losing friends here, why? Why won’t anyone tell me what this is in aid of? I’m a freaking city girl. Sure I’ve got some survival skills cuz my dad’s a “crazy” SEAL, but guess what… I hate this shit. I hate having to smith my own forks out of metal I chisled out of a mountain guarded by a ten foot flesh eating lizard. I hate not having a bunch of manufactured pens and pencils at my disposal. You know what I write with? Fucking Raptor feathers. You know unwieldy freaking Raptor feathers are when you write with them? I want my fucking processed cotton t-shirts and my cheap beer. I miss shitting in a toilet. I miss … vibrating toys. Fuck this island.

-

Painted the house. Here’s where I live. I threw Miranda in the background, but she kinda stole the show. Painting dinosaurs is more fun than painting houses for me... But I did get Ghost’s skull above my door. I got you ya jackass.

-

Started making a boat. Bob and I got the lumber. The engrams gave me a raft. I want something bigger. When the giant Sharks show up, I wanna stay floating long enough to scream.

-

Boat’s coming along. Needs a sail.

-

Kasatka sank my boat… Guess I need to try again…

-

Time is weird. I wonder if it’s Christmas? No months. Only week days. When was my last birthday?

-

Got a better boat built. Kas couldn’t sink this one. Might go sailing.

-

Didn’t go sailing. Built some drums instead. I’ve missed music

-

Oh man. This is hands down, the best smith work I’ve done. I don’t remember if I mentioned it before. But after killing that bitch, Psycho, I chopped off her massive toe. I wanted to make something out of her sickle claw. I’ve been working on it little by little. I filed down the sharper parts of the claw, so it wont stab me if I fall on it, but it kept it’s wicked Raptor-claw shape. Next I filed down the sides so it fits my hands. Theres a few pieces of leather padding there too so I can squeeze it without hurting myself. Now, it took me two days to smith the next part. It’s a blade. It’s basically a bowie knife. The shaft of the blade is serrated (I used Megaladon teeth as a reference) for sawing and cutting, the edges are honed, and the tip is thick. I can slice, saw, stab, and cut efficiently all with this one awesome blade. Psycho’s toe became the hilt of the knife. The end result is about ten inches of badass murder. I call it… the Psyclaw. I’ll keep my machete for most of my fighting. The Psyclaw will be for utility, and as a backup weapon. I’m building a sheath for it in one of my awesome boots.

-

Went sailing today. Needed to confirm something… It’s confirmed. I’m really truly trapped here… I had a feeling… but it sucks to know for sure.

The boat works well. Kas and the Dolphins were with me the whole way. I got myself used to moving the rudder. The wind was pretty steady. I took us directly south… as far as I could… I lowered the sail when I saw a… shimmering. It was less than a mile from the shore. I could see my fishing hut, looking like a little piece of a board game from there. Once the boat had stopped, I threw off my clothes and dove into the water (after scanning all directions for incoming sharks). I swam until I hit something… It’s not a wall in the traditional sense. You can reach out towards it. Even push it. But you’ll just feel a force pushing you back. An actual “force field.” On the other side of it was what looked like ocean as for as the eye could see… but I have a feeling that’s some sort of illusion.

I was right. This whole Island really is some sort of… Terrarium. And I’m trapped inside…

-

Here’s my boat… and my dock.

-

I carved a flute. I had the basics of wind instruments down, but I’ve always been more of an “electric string” kind of girl. Still, its better than nothing. I’ve got drums and a flute to play. The Parasaurs sang with the flute. Even Kas added his mournful call to the melody. I felt a little better then. Raven and Lindsay curled up as close as they could. Its easy to forget that there are those that love me here…

-

Took Lindsay to the Redwoods. Killed a big ass Bear. FUR!

-

Got some fur clothes now. At some point I’ll have to trek through the snow...

-

Going on a long sailing trip. Might be gone a while. Taking Raven and Bluejay, as well as the sea creatures. Lets see what I can find.

-

Shark army, bitches. They’re like dogs once you’ve tamed them. All curiosity and excitement. They swim around and when they see you they’ll get as close as they can to see what you’re doing.

I suppose I should talk about the rest of my sailing journey to give some context. I took my boat all the way around the Island. I’ve been to all four corners now. I even got to test out my fur clothes in the Icy northern waters. It was (literally) smooth sailing the whole way. There was always a steady wind, and the waters weren’t that choppy at all. The whole trip took a little over a week.

Some good news first. I found the locations for two more caves. There’s one along the northernmost cliff of the Island. Looks like you have to either climb up to it, or climb down. Only one cave left that I don’t have a location for, other than the two underwater.

I also checked out “Dead Island.” It’s the island in the north east corner. It’s the carnivore island Helena spoke of. I spotted the cave entrance on that one as I sailed around it. I’ll sail back to it at some point with more friends and more tools. But let me talk about the journey a bit. It feels like a tale worth telling.

Starting from home, I sailed east. The map I have refers to the island in the southeast corner, as "herbivore island." I’ve only ever seen it from a distance, so I was curious to check it out. It usually took me two days to cross all the necessary rivers and run across all the southern beaches, but sailing in a straight line… we were there before nightfall.

That place is… exactly what it sounds like. It seems to be a haven for all manner of plant eating species. A pair of Brontosaurus dominated the landscape, but they were surrounded by herds of Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and many others. They seemed ill at ease when I swam ashore. I made sure the Raptors stayed on the boat so nobody would freak out. I went on a little nature hike. It felt nice to not be a desperate survivor for an evening. I never felt threatened on that little circle of land at all. They eyed me curiously, but ignored me so long as I didn't get in their way. Some of the Trikes even let me touch them. It was... it was nice. I killed a few Dodos to feed to my friends, then swam back to my boat, where I slept. I would have slept on the shore but I just know if I did, the Raptors would jump off the boat, swim ashore and cause a freaking stampede. No cave there sadly, but there was one dossier.

On day two we made our first shark friend. Naturally, that happened because it tried to kill us. The thing snuck up behind us, trying to grab one of my Dolphins. Thankfully Kas called out a warning. I turned the boat and fired my crossbow at the thing. Goddamn, those sharks are scary huge. But tranq arrows work on sharks. You have to hit them in a way that breaches the skin. It’s easiest when they’re on the surface. If the water’s too deep, the arrow won’t pierce and I’d hazard a guess the tranq would wash off. It’s simple enough to lure them to the surface though. If they’re hungry, they’ll follow Dolphins and Whales. He came really close to biting a chunk out of Kas. I had to ram the boat into his head to stop him. That’s what finally knocked him out.

After that I took a risk and threw my whole crate of preserved meats overboard for him to eat. When he woke up I treaded water with Kas floating near me. The massive terrifying creature was hard to read. I can’t say I know a lot about shark behavior. I was scared outta my mind… But the way it kept turning its head so its black eyes could focus on me… It seemed more curious than anything. So I pulled the lid off the meat crate and kicked it towards him. He became my new friend instantly. Swallowed the whole cloud of meat in one sitting. After that, he slowly swam up to Kas, as though sniffing at him. Kas “sniffed” back. Then he approached all the Dolphins. But he seemed most excited about me. He kept swimming as close as I could. Christ, with how big he was, the force of him passing me kept sucking me underwater. But other than that, he was shockingly gentle. Sharks are apparently snuggly when you give them the right brain power. That first one, I could only name him Jaws. He’s mostly sea green, with a white belly, but all the sharks have stripes on them that almost look painted on. Jaw’s “painted” stripes were blue.

We encountered another shark a few hours later. I wanted to try and tame that one too, but Jaws and Kas killed it before I could try. Since I knew I wanted to try and tame more Sharks, I went ashore and went hunting for tasty grass fed herbivore meat I could use to bribe them. The second friend I made almost got us on our way back to the boat. Raven barely managed to climb out as the things massive head splashed out of the water behind us.

Did quite a bit of damage to the boat too. But I managed to put him to sleep by tossing a whole gob of tranq paste right into his mouth. This one is Sharknado. He earned that name by barrel rolling a bunch… I think he was trying to scare the Dolphins away at the time. They were ramming into him while he was slowly passing out. Then all of a sudden… spin spin spin. He’s a bit more standoffish than Jaws, but he’s sweet enough. His stripes are yellow. I lowered the sails and slept on the boat that night. I really wish I’d built it with an anchor… It didn’t even cross my mind… But I think the Sharks and Kas slept close enough and kinda… kept us in place. We didn’t drift much at all while we slept.

Crossing the northern area of the Island was… cold. I finally got to test out my fur clothes. They worked wonders. But I still found myself worrying about my oceanic friends. As far as I can tell, the icy waters don’t bother any of them. Seeing the snowy landscapes for the first time was… something else.

It really is beautiful in its way. I'd always heard Alaska had a harsh beauty to it. I sort of imagine it looks similar to this. The ice sparkles in the sun, reflecting a rainbow of colors. I drank in the natural beauty for a time, as we sailed along. Then I remembered there was probably nothing natural about this place. I slept on the boat that night. The Raptors were definitely not happy being stuck on the boat in the cold. The next morning, I kept us in sunny waters. Sailing was rough in the northwest corner. I almost sank us when we smacked into some floating ice. We were leaking after that. So I got us around the icebergs and prayed we’d keep floating until we found a safe spot where I could tie the boat to something. That… whole thing was actually kind of a disaster upon reflection…

Thankfully we found a spot. I tied the boat to an old stump. The Raptors got to run around while I crawled into the storage area to find and patch the whole. I’m really glad I remembered to to take off my furs. If I’d gotten them wet… I would have definitely frozen to death. But I got all that done and went ashore with the Raptors while the sea creatures played.

I scouted out the wildlife of the tundra. The snows were home to quite a wide variety of new and interesting creatures. The first ones I spotted were the wooly mammoths. They're just as big and fluffy looking as you might imagine. A small herd of three trudged across the snowy planes. As they moved, they were attacked from the side by a T. Rex. The T. Rex's are apparently plenty comfortable in the snow. I have no freaking clue how that works. But that is a useful fact. Jimmy and Miranda could help cover me when I come here. The herd of hairy elephants worked together, swinging their spikey tusks at their attacker. After taking some nasty gashes, the Rex backed off. Best to avoid making enemies out of the mammoths it would seem.

I moved to a different spot then, to see what else I could see. The next notable creatures I spotted were wolves the size of ponies. Dire Wolves? Man, just call me Rayne Stark. They moved in groups and from what I've seen of them, they’re as quick and deadly as Raptors. Maybe even more so, given how big they were. I wouldn’t mind taming some to be honest, but I’m not sure. I doubt they’d be comfortable living in a tropical environment.

The next thing I saw, I didn't have a name for at the time. But it looked like a smaller T. Rex that was fluffy. I'm serious. From a distance it totally looks like its covered in fur, or maybe feathers. Interestingly, the fluffy Rex's seemed to have formed a pack with several Carnotaurus. I don't think I've ever seen species cooperate in the wild before. Even if they did it was usually by accident.

There’s also big fluffy rhinos hanging around, grazing at what they could find. The one I saw must have had a 4-foot horn on its nose. Compensate much? The only other new creatures I met while I scanned the snowy north, I thought were some form of Dodo at first. But when I got closer I realized they were penguins! No idea what kind of penguins though, they have weird beaks, but they waddle, slide, and frolic, and they're every bit as adorable as the penguins I'm familiar with.

Once I was done checking out the animals, I turned my attention towards the mountain behind me. Floating above it was the Blue Obelisk. On the map, it's called "Whitesky Peak." Getting a fighting force up there wouldn’t be easy. I was going to have to navigate across the island, fight across the snowy plains, and climb an icy, treacherous mountain, and somehow I was going to have to bring the Rex's with me. It can never be easy can it?

After that, I got us back on the boat and headed for home. I spotted the Titanosaurus again as we sailed down the western coast. That was the most pleasant leg of the journey. I got to see that serene looking waterfall again. But then that third and final Shark showed up to mess with is. This guy was quite the bully. And he ignored the other sharks. He was more interested in our boat. I thought we were done for, but then Raven, nutcase that she is, jumped off the boat and right onto its back. Somehow she latched herself onto the thirty-foot monster and held on for the rest of the fight. The big bastard took notice. It started flailing and even spun a few times trying to dislodge her. I freaking panicked. But we got enough tranq into it to conk it out. I was convinced he’d drowned, or broken Raven with his thrashing… but a minute or two after the splashing stopped, she hopped her way back onto the boat, shook off the water, and jogged up to me, chirping happily. She’s as crazy as I am. That shark is Mega Shark. His stripes are red. He might be my favorite. He’s shown a lot of curiosity since I got him home… though that did result in him biting off a hunk of my dock…

But anyway. It took us another day and a half to get home. Around the Island in about 8 days. I’ve got more planning to do. I should also check and see that Lindsay hasn’t eaten any of my sharks…

-

Things going well. Sharks adapting. Lindsay is their friend. I think one of them ate the Dolphin ball though. The rope’s severed cleanly and the ball is just gone…

-

Back to building.

-

The fabricator is just about done. I still don’t know how to fuel it.

-

Mother FUCKER!!!! I found a dossier while I was sailing. I didn’t really read it. It was for the Dung Beetles. Looked like stuff I already figured out. They clean up dino poop and turn it into fertilizer… Well I took another look at that dossier and learned something else… The sludge they excrete that I’ve been fertilizing my gardens with… its always liquidy… The liquid is oil. I can boil it to refine it into gasoline. I’ve had fuel this whole FUCKING time and I didn’t even know it. Apparently there’s something in their digestive systems that turns shit into oil. Who made these things? And can they help me craft the fucking Philosopher’s Stone while they’re at it? I really want to drink, but being drunk and angry sucks. I think I’m gonna go hug the Unicorn…


	11. Entry 43: Super Calla Fabrication... Expedite my Neurosis...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne completes her long awaited fabricator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It still bugs me that all survivors are apparently tech savvy enough to design a working combustion engine out of smithed metal... but I guess people pulled it off at some point in history.

I've done it. I got the fabricator finished. The engine's connected and everything is wired. I’m so done chiseling metal. Now that I’ve got it built, I’m pretty sure I know how it will work. But I still need to figure out how to fuel it. I’ve been doing the extremely smelly work of sifting beetle poop and catching all the fluid. The smell is a bit… overwhelming. I can’t just pour poop juice in the engine… so how do I refine it? It’s just sitting next to the fabricator… being stinky…

-

Okay… The engrams now have refining instructions… But there’s no way… Also I brought some paper down to keep a log of stuff. I’m not running back and forth to the bedroom… I’m not sure why but I felt like clarifying... Welcome to "Rayne's Science-y Log"

So refining oil requires sustained heat, and some dry hide. Place a pot on the smelter and cook the stuff with the leather on top. Cook continuously while keeping it covered, and periodically replace the leather if it absorbs too much “impurity.” I’m like… 90% sure refining oil is supposed to be more complicated than this… 

-

I’ll be damned… It worked. I didn’t even need to use a specific kind of leather. What the hell are these dinosaurs made of? 

I followed the instructions. I kept the fire burning as hot as I could get it, even threw in spark powder to keep it simmering. I could only boil a bit at a time. I only have a smaller pot. So anyway, you cook it, and flip the leather at least once (I’m really glad I bothered to make some tongs) and keep that process going until the fluid is clear and the leather is... disgusting. The clear-ish substance is apparently gasoline. Will it work? Only one way to find out I suppose…

-

Get the fuck out… I poured it into the engine of my fabricator, pulled a lever, and it slowly whirred to life. Something’s not quite right though. I think one of my pieces isn’t shaped right… Or most of them.

-

I think I fixed the problem. Let’s try again.

-

Ouch. More adjustments to make. Need medical paste first.

-

Okay. The lathe is spinning, but a few other things still don’t work. What the hell are these clamps for?

-

Well, that’s a burn.

-

It’s almost completely functional… but I almost lost a finger. I think I’m gonna call it a night. Bon Fire Time!

-

Well, it’s three days later. I’m writing in my room again… Again… Wanted to clarify... Everything on the fabricator is working. It’s incredible. But I have to be careful. It burns up gas pretty fast. Especially when I use its heaters. It’s still pretty complicated to use, and I have to do everything manually. Not like machines back home that are all programed for an exact task. But it’s so much easier than chiseling and filing by hand. I’ve already got a freaking scuba tank made. 

I used the lathe to make the rounded cylinder, and a few other spinny tubes to hollow out the middle. Next, I made a separate top piece. I had to use the more complicated tools to chisel out the valves and o-rings. It’s tough and you have to be careful, but oh my gods, and I can’t say this enough, it's so much easier than hammering this shit out by hand. Seriously I’ve got a functioning scuba tank with the same kind of parts and pieces I might see in my own time. Though it’s still missing one key component. I need new material to create “polymer” which will let me craft tubes and such. I’ll have to make a return journey to some caves. I need more chitin. Then I need to find obsidian. That's volcanic glass I think... I have a feeling I’ll find that at the volcano.

-

I’m back. I’ve got nice fat stack of metal ore and volcanic glass. But I think the rest of what I found at the volcano is also worth talking about.

I took the Rex's. Lindsay gave me some funny looks as we left. “Don’t worry,” I said to her. “We’re not looking for giant spiders this time. I’ll get these two home.” The trip to the volcano was pretty uneventful. I wasn’t particularly worried about the swamps from on top of Jimmy Meathead. So we stomped through them instead of going around. We made it to the base of the volcano in a day and a half, which was a new personal record. Next day, we traipsed all the way around the base looking for a way up. Eventually we ended up on the north side. It took some searching but there is a path. It LOOKS like natural rock formations, but I swear… it’s a path, and it leads up the mountain. It’s a little narrow. I took the Rex’s up single file.

From what I'd read in the explorer notes, all of the explorers were collecting the obelisk's artifacts, because they acted as keys to something on this mountain. I wanted to take a look at what while I was looking for obsidian. No point risking my life against monsters if there's no door for me to open after all. Along the way we were attacked by those massive Birds. Argentavis I believe. They’re beautiful. I honestly wouldn’t mind a tame one… but I wouldn’t have much for one to do… Fuck flying. I’d die of panic riding on one of them…

So after a treacherous day climbing our way up towards the peak, the path took us through this… split. Looked like the entrance to "Mount Doom" or some shit. Then we were in the crater. There's magma and everything. I really hope that doesn't mean it's an active volcano. It was even hotter than that one lava cave. Jimmy carried us inside, but I left him and Miranda up on I high, platform, while I peeked over the edge into the fiery abyss. The rocks form a walkway, making safe paths deeper down. I could probably move dinosaurs down that path if I needed too. More importantly, I found lots of shiny black rocks. Obsidian.

Before I got to work though, I descended further. There were no animals thankfully, just bubbling lava. The heat was intense. The rock paths lead to a platform. It was made of the same mysterious metal as the obelisks. I couldn't tell where the rock ended and the metal began, like it was built or grown that way... On that platform was a huge and ominous door leading somewhere deeper into the volcano. There’s also a pedestal, like the obelisks. Around it were three indentations. One of them will definitely fit that spider head (which I have on my wall). 

I found some notes there. This is definitely the closest thing to an exit the Island has. All four of the major players I’d been reading about in notes, ended up here. Nerva who seemed to have captured Helena for some reason, was working with Rockwell, and had brought his army here after obtaining the three artifacts. Mei Yin was hot on his heels. It sounds like she wanted him dead… Did he attack her? I remember it sounded like there were wars going on… I’m not sure. Either way… They left these notes behind, and now there’s nobody on the Island but me. This has to be the way out. 

I got back to my Rex’s and got to work gathering up Obsidian. I got tons of the stuff packed into their saddlebags. Getting home wasn’t a problem. We were gone for maybe a few days. I’ll take my furballs, Chewie and Cousin It to a cave to gather up some chitin… I really should get started on that promise to be nicer to bugs… Sorry bugs… I need your skeletons.

-

Got the chitin. Those boys are vicious to bugs…

-

It’s taken some experimentation, but I’ve worked it out. There’s part of the fabricator that applies extreme heat and pressure to material, like a big heated press. The obsidian glass and the “frog spit” paste, when mashed together… it makes a material akin to rubber or plastic. Polymer. 

I cut some of into elastic strips and heated it further. The straps were tough and a bit stretchy. They work way better at holding my armor in place. The hard part was a wetsuit. I had to cut it and stitch it together myself. My needlework isn’t quite good enough though… Why isn’t there a…

-

Never mind, there’s totally a sewing machine type thing on the fabricator… I just ran out of my house in the dark to figure that out. I just didn’t recognize it before. I’ll have to use it to stitch my wetsuit pieces together tomorrow.

-

Okay! The wetsuit is complete and it works! Keeps me warm in the water… and I really like the way my butt looks in it… The rest of the day I spent working on the tubes I’d attach to my oxygen tank. They work too. My engrams also showed me how to make a primitive pressure gauge to attach to it so I can watch how much air is in it. Everything works… I’m honestly kinda amazed. I still need flippers and goggles. Flippers should be easy-ish… But what can use to make goggles?

-

Engrams came through for me. It took a couple of tries to make flippers that fit my feet. I keep misjudging my own foot size… I can’t exactly stick my foot in hot melt-y plastic. But I finally got some that fit nice and snug. Next came the goggles. That press thing works on crystal rock I’ve been collecting. Flattens it into nice clear flat glassy material. I could probably make windows or something with this… But right now, I made some basic goggles, then crafted polymer straps and headgear. And that’s it… I’ve got a freaking scuba suit. Not bad for punk rock wannabe city girl with nothing but rocks and sticks… I also found an air pump device on the fabricator. I can use it to refill the scuba tanks, but I have to pump it by hand, which takes a bit. But still. How cool is that? 

I'll be going on an ocean expedition soon. I’m curious though. Helena mentioned the “painted sharks” often rode on their sharks… 

-

I could make a saddle for the sharks (and eventually I will, I’ve got engrams) but for this first expedition, I’d rather ride my first water friend. So I built a saddle for Kasatka. I honestly couldn’t have imagined that water species like this could be trained for riding. Kas almost seemed excited about it as I strapped him with leather. It’s an unusual design. These animals are too big to “sit” on, so the saddle is just this really thick bit of leather that you strap yourself to, face down, so that you’re laying between the whale’s head and dorsal fin. You handle the reigns from there. It’s not comfortable. My neck does not appreciate being pointed up like that for so long, but that combined with a wetsuit… you’re good to travel around under water... Just remember to equalize as you go. And don't let them descend too quick. Underwater is looking pretty sweet. Riding on Kas, with three burly shark soldiers. I think we can pull this off... Still a bit more work to do

-

Kasatka and the Sharks are quite the nautical fighting force. I’ve even got them all trained up. I can’t use whistles under water sadly. But I have been making drums. So I attached a little baton to my scuba belt, and made myself a little wrist-mounted drum. I’ve trained the sea creature to come to me when I bang the drum. I haven’t figured out complex commands yet, so I won’t be commanding them individually on the fly like I do with the land beasts, but that’s okay. All I need is for them to be close. Three super sharks and one badass whale could handle anything the ocean threw at me right?

-

Alright. That wasn't too bad. I went on a short expedition to see how we’d do. I also wanted to see just how long my scuba tank would last. We dove a bit deeper than we did during training. I started finding these huge clams… Knowing this place, I had a feeling I’d find something cool inside… so I unstrapped myself from Kasatka and swam down to take a look. I was able to use the Psyclaw to pry them open (I fucking love this knife) and low and behold, I found some pretty sizable pearls. I amassed myself a big pile of them as the Shark’s swam in a defensive circle above me. Some engrams I’ve seen call for something called “silica pearls.” I’m guessing that’s just a blanket term for pearls… Now I’ve got some! 

My tank lasts about two hours. I got us to the surface when it got tough to breath and Kas swam us home with Sharks close behind. There’s big angry jellyfish, big angry stingrays, big angry sharks, big angry fish… but honestly… I think we can do this. I’m gonna make a spare scuba tank I think, then I’m gonna get a long “voyage to the bottom of the sea” ready.

If I don't write again, the ocean probably beat me. I’m not looking forward to this, but I have to do it… Hopefully I’ll find those caves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to my spouse for that title.


	12. Entry 44: ... Nope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne meets a denizen of the depths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two this week...

No... Absolutely not. Fuck this. No. I'm done. Fuck this place. Fuck everything about it. Fuck its oceans, its mountains, and its volcano. I hope it all explodes. Its thrown giant spiders, sharks, bears, birds, crocodiles, scorpions, and plenty of fucking dinosaurs at me but this is where I draw the fucking line. No. You expect me explore an ocean inhabited by tentacle monsters the size of fucking subway cars with no useable weapons but a spear and a crossbow? How is that in the least bit fair!? No. Nope nope nope and nope…

Okay I think that's out of my system. If you can't already tell, I went on a diving expedition… Want my advice? Don’t go on diving expeditions.

My second diving expedition only lasted three hours. At the time, I was excited… but still filled with dread… but I calmed myself by thinking “there couldn’t be anything bigger than these sharks… No known sea monsters got that big.” I should have known shit would go down when I told that to myself…

I got all my stuff packed, my new tank at the ready, a bag of dried jerky I could eat (It’s not too bad when wet) and plenty of leather satchels for collecting whatever I could from the sea. I hopped on Kas with a song in my heart, and off we went, into the depths. I went slow, careful to equalize pressure as we descended. When we hit the bottom of the southern seas, there was only just enough light. I was just glad I could see at all. It was... magnificent really. Anyone who's been scuba diving knows what I mean.

Underwater is a whole new world. Now imagine instead of just fish, you occasionally see dinosaurs. It really was incredible. I spotted plesiosaurs in the distance. That's what everyone says the Loch Ness monster is. It’s a smaller brontosaurus-looking creature with flippers instead of legs. The ones I saw had teeth like daggers, so I kept my distance. Then there were the bucktoothed fish. I thing it's called Dunkleosteus. They're pretty goofy looking, but I'm guessing those teeth could sheer me in half. I also saw random lights in the murk, and we got close enough to see it was attached to freaking anglerfish that was roughly as big as me. It was all amazing. We weaved around rocks and coral reefs, exploring the ocean floor. Eventually we came to an open sandy area. I saw things swimming around there, but I wasn’t sure what they were. They're aggressive and full of tranq though. I got stung a little by one of the buggers and I could feel the venom working, but I got away quick enough that it wasn't debilitating. They look like some kind of huge lobster or shrimp. Maybe some sort of sea scorpion? 

My shark friends did not take kindly to the buggy thing’s aggression. They chomped five of them to death, shearing them in half, before the others took the hint and fled. The bodies that were left behind had something other than guts spilling out of their body cavities. They were shiny and round, like pearls, but they were different from the silica pearls I'd been collecting. Curious, I swam down to collect them, leaving my sea friends swimming protectively above me. 

They were some kind of pearl, but dark in color. If I could make stuff with silica pearls, I wonder what I could make with these? I gathered all that I could. Each dead scorpion carried four or five of them. I had to crack a few open myself but I stuffed five into my shoulder bag, and loaded up one of my empty bags with around 20 more. They're oddly heavy.

I remember that distinctly. I was musing about how heavy the pearls were when I turned around… only to scream into my mouthpiece, and empty my bladder into the waters around me. My survival sense clearly doesn't work as well in the water. Somehow I hadn't even seen the massive Lovecraftian nightmare approaching us. It was a squid. A horrifyingly massive squid.

I've said in the past that the sharks are almost the size of a bus. I'm really not exaggerating much, they're at least that long, and their mouths open wide enough to swallow a grown man whole without biting if it wanted. I bring this up, because this new oceanic horror made my sharks look mid-sized in comparison. The scale of this thing was just insane. Its mantle alone was longer than the sharks; add in the size of its tentacles, it could easily be fifty or sixty feet long. Its eyes were bigger than my body, and they darted around, taking in all the information they could with pupils of a shape I’d never seen before. It had one of my sharks, Sharknado, wrapped tightly in its writhing appendages. The others were circling the scene, looking for an opening to attack. 

If the monster squid felt threatened by them at all, it didn't show it. It pulled its tentacles tighter, which caused a burst of red to start flowing out from Sharknado, who redoubled his thrashing. How was it cutting my shark? I thought squid only cut with their beaks? Questions for later. I came incredibly close to just leaving Sharknado behind, torpedoing to the surface and never getting into the water again, but my idiot sentimentality got the best of me... again. I swallowed my terror as best I could and pulled my spear out of its straps. I swam toward the monstrous creature’s eye. I was able to swim right up to its obscene-looking slimy body before it finally focused on me. For a brief moment, I stared into that beast’s black and yellow eyes, and it looked right back. It was intelligent. I could tell. But it was trying to eat my friend. I jammed my spear towards the creatures colossal eyeball, but it jerked away, and I missed blinding it, burying my spear in its fleshy mantle instead.

I yanked it out and thrust again. It didn't look like my jabs were doing much of anything beside making little cuts in the massive creatures skin, but all the same, it was retreating from me. I was in no state to question that. I was running on pure panic. I swam away from the squid, but I refused to turn my back on it. I just knew if I did, it would cocoon me in its arms and tear me apart. I'm pretty sure I prayed to every god I may or may not partially believe in, that that wouldn't be my fate. Hugged to death by monster squid? Please no. I was staring daggers at it and it stared right back. I swear, it almost looked intrigued by the the strange little monkey girl floating a few meters from its eye.

I didn't even notice it had released Sharknado. He was just as panicked as I was. As he thrashed his way out of the Squid’s grip, part of his massive tail collided with me from the back. The force of it knocked me forward, straight for the squid. I lost my respirator, and I almost blacked out. But I barely managed to keep myself conscious after the concussive force hit me. When I finally regained my senses seconds later, I panicked all over again. That idiot Shark had somehow slapped me right between the squid’s tentacles. In front of me was its massive beak, all around me, its obscene arms writhed, I still clung to objects in each hand. The beak in front of me slid open, revealing a mouth almost big enough to swallow me whole, but not quite, it would need to sheer me in half first. No. No death by squid.

I let panic fill me and thrust my spear at it with one hand and swung… something with the other. The spear hit nothing. The other object ended up being my bag of dark pearls. Apparently I was still clinging to it. The strap got snagged on the slightly hooked portion of its beak, which snapped shut around it. Why did the squid eat my pearls? “I don't give a flying fuck about pearls, get me out get me out get me out” was about what my thought process was.

I swam for all I was worth, struggling to get my breather back in as I went. The beast’s tentacles moved around me. They were lined with spikes, or maybe teeth? That's how it made Sharknado bleed. It wrapped its arms around things and jammed these tentacle teeth into them. Oh fuck every bit of this. I swam between the things tentacles (or arms if you want to get technical) each as thick as my torso, and swam into the open water, banging on my little drum to get my sharks to come to me. It wasn't until half a minute later, when my sharks and my whale swam around me, that I turned around to see what the squid was doing. It hadn't moved. It just floated there, staring at me. Me specifically. I remember that. It was fucking bone chilling. It was about 15 yards away from us. Still way too alarmingly close. I stared it down as long as I could (maybe ten seconds) before I resumed swimming backwards away from it, with my spear raised in what I hoped was a threatening gesture. I didn't see the massive appendage until too late. One of its tentacles (actual tentacles, the two longer ones that squid have, since were being technical), wrapped itself around my spear, and plucked it from my grasp like it was nothing. I was too startled to react. I was about to give the order to the sharks to attack, but the Squid apparently had what it wanted. A cloud of inky black squirted from some unknown orifice on the monsters body, and completely enveloped the sharks and I. 

I panicked a third time, utterly convinced the monster squid was about to wrap us all up in a big spikey hug, but the hug never came, the ink faded after a few seconds, and I saw then that the squid was gone. I spotted it in the distance, swimming away, my spear still wrapped in its tentacle. 

I was too shaken to care. I got on Kas’s saddle and bolted to the surface. I didn't care if I went too fast, I wasn't spending another fucking second in an ocean with spikey giant squid monsters. We made it home, I feel horribly ill. I might have decompression sickness from rising too fast or something. I don't care. I'm out of the water. I'm safe. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know if I have it in me to explore the ocean anymore. Not with that thing down there. I might be stuck on this Island. Alone… I need to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, not gonna lie, Rayne's reaction was made to be more realistic for a person. My actual reaction to seeing a Tusoteuthis for the first time was "I want one."


	13. Entry 45: Terror from the deep.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne has an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Squid are fascinating...

I'm... having some trouble processing the events of the last twelve hours... I guess I’ll start with this morning. My excursion to the bottom of the sea was yesterday. I didn’t have a great night. Squids aren’t that different from spiders in shape… so naturally I had nightmares about giant spider-squids. I woke up, still feeling off from the previous day. My limbs tingled and and I still felt dizzy. That's a sign of decompression sickness. So I spent another hour lying on my side. I felt well enough to get on my feet after a while, so I made my way outside, and drank a bunch of water before getting my chores done. I even patted Petey on the nose as he sleepily trudged up to eat, just like any other day. Once I was done feeding everyone on land, I made my way down the peninsula. My plan was to give the sea creatures a little extra today, just to thank them for their help. That’s when shit got weird.

I was dragging a bunch of chunks of pig carcass down to the end of the dock, when it suddenly struck me… Why was it so quiet? Something seemed off. My water friends were usually eagerly awaiting their morning snacks. Kas and the Dolphins liked to jump for me. But I didn't see dorsal fins of any size anywhere nearby. I dropped the meat I was carrying and looked around. In my head I kept telling myself that they were probably just playing somewhere… but I couldn’t shake this… dread. Everything on the dock seemed normal. Nothing out of place. But then the sun shined down from behind a cloud… and I saw something shimmering on the dock, right next to the edge. I carefully knelt down to inspect it… and immediately got goosebumps from the fucking chills that ran up my body, while my stomach dropped.

It was my spear. My spear was on the dock. Definitely mine. It had the shark-tooth on the end and everything. “The last time I saw this... the squid... Oh no…” I’m pretty sure I was white as a sheet at that point. Then, as if on cue, I heard a low gurgling sound, and I looked towards the water, where a massive, fleshy, pinkish... thing was emerging. Little by little it rose until a massive and familiar unblinking eye was gazing over the water at me from fifty yards out... the spiky monster squid had followed me home... I fell on my ass and I was too shocked to rise.

We sat there... staring at one another, while my heart made a desperate attempt to escape my chest. Most of that time I spent desperately trying to think of an attack plan. "It couldn't reach me from there right? Could it get out of the water? Maybe a tentacle… It had to place the spear here somehow. I'll sprint down the dock, whistle for Lindsay, and we'll drag it onto the beach. That will work right? It's just as big as Lindsay, and a better swimmer, it might drag her in... Why is it still just floating there looking at me?" That about sums up my thought process… But as seconds ticked by and became minutes, I found myself musing on that last question more than any of my others. Once or twice it dipped itself back under water, presumably to wet its eyes and body, before rising again. I don't know a lot about squids, but I'm pretty sure to attack, they use their beaks and tentacles. This squid’s tentacles were off to the right. It was just leisurely floating there with only enough of its head out of the water for its eyes. This didn’t look like an aggressive... uh stance?

So what other reasons might a wild animal show itself to a person? Usually it was about food or defending territory. On occasion, if the animal was brave and/or stupid enough, they might investigate out of curiosity. 

I took my eyes off the squid and looked down at the spear it had returned. It was bent and notched in a few places. I'm guessing it had experimentally gnawed on it with its beak. This creature wasn't stupid. I thought back to my encounter with it yesterday. It had attacked Sharknado, but as soon as I appeared to it, it released him. Then I swam to my friends and we all floated there at the ready (after I threw a bag of pearls in its mouth). It had just watched. Then it took my spear and fled. 

Now it had reappeared a day later, returned the spear it stole, and was now floating there looking at me, waiting for a response. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was. I think it was curious.

If I could prove the thing wasn’t hostile… maybe I could calm the fuck down. I crawled back, until I found a big chunk of meat. Finally I stood up, and slowly approached the side of the dock. I made myself visible, but kept my eyes peeled for sneaky tentacles. I held the meat up for the squid to see. It was a friendship offering. For a moment, its massive eye shifted its focus curiously into the object in my hand, then returned to me. After that I hurled the meat out into the water, it landed with plop near the squids tentacles, the squid eyed it, then I watched as one of it tentacles curled around the chunk and pulled it into the water. After that, the beast itself slowly sank under the water as it investigated what I'd given it.

The waters are clear but it's still hard to see what's going on a few feet below the surface. It looked to me like the squid was shoving the meat into its waiting beak. So it accepts meat treats. A minute or so later, it returned to the surface, and resumed staring at me. I tossed it more meat, but this time it didn't seem interested. I went and grabbed a bucket (I've fabricated buckets) of homemade “chum” and poured it into the sea, but that didn't get much of a reaction either. It did seem interested in SOMETHING though. I squeaked in fright when I saw it turning itself, and moving its arms and tentacles towards my dock. I dropped the bucket and scampered back a bit, but I kept watching. It didn’t drag itself too far into the shallows, just enough to reach the dock. I watched in fascination, as it’s tentacles sort of… climbed their way up the pillars and climbed up over the edge. They sort of crawl, or flop, bonelessly about. I guess they don't move so good outside of the water. The appendages spread themselves about in an explorative manner, touching all they could reach, until they found the bucket I’d dropped. 

The tendril then curled around the metal and then slowly, pulled it off the dock into the water. After that, it moved away, back into more open water. It was hard to tell what it was doing, but I'm fairly confident it was investigating the bucket. This is the first creature I've met on this island, that ignored food, in favor of freaking buckets. 

It had to be a lot more intelligent than I first believed, and I thought it looked smart to begin with. Out of curiosity, I ran down to the fishing hut and grabbed up some older tools. An axe, a pickaxe, and an old fishing pole (which was just a string tied to a stick) and I brought them onto the dock. I waited a good ten minutes for the creature to finish playing with my bucket, when it was done it returned to the shallows. I watched it reach its tentacle towards my dock, and once more, it climbed its way up. It left my bucket on the edge. Tentatively, I reached out to touch it. It was a bit slimy, and recoiled a bit from my touch, but then it relaxed. When it began flipping again, I placed the pick axe under it, and the beast grabbed it and pulled it into the water to investigate.

And… that was my entire morning. For hours I sat on the dock, just watching the gargantuan cephalopod play with my tools before returning to search for a new one. 

At some point I remembered my other water friends were missing, so once it returned my fishing pole (the string was missing), I moved away from the dock and went looking for them. Curiously, the big squid followed me along the water. I found my friends huddled together, circling around a short ways upriver where it was still deep enough for them to swim. I'm guessing the squid’s presence had terrified them into hiding. They panicked as I (and consequently the squid) drew closer. I had one of their meat buckets with me. After checking to make sure the squid was staying a safe distance away, I dove in with the meat bucket, banging on my wrist gauntlet to get their attention. I put soothing hands on all of them and gave them all a little snack. The sharks calmed down first. The three of them could likely fight and kill the squid if things got hairy. Kasatka and the dolphins remained agitated, so I swam out and headed back towards the beach, hoping I could bait my new squid friend to follow. It did. 

We went back to the dock, where I started trying to play a game with the beast. I got the Dolphin’s new ball secured to its rope and heaved it out towards the squid, I stood poised to cut the rope in case the squid pulled to hard, so at the very least the whole dock wouldn't come crumbling down. Thankfully I never had to. The squid gently examined the ball as it did with the rest of my tools, but while it was doing so, I playfully yanked it away. It had been held deep enough, that when it reached the surface, its buoyancy popped it almost two feet in the air. The squid seemed intrigued by this, and tried to grab it again, but I yanked it away at the last second. On its third try, I let it have the ball to see what it would do. It pulled it down underwater, holding it there for a time, then it let go, letting the ball float rapidly to the surface. It did this a few more times, experimenting with various depths… You get the idea. It’s smart enough to recognize tools, and experiment with objects.

Eventually I ran inside to test another theory. I grabbed my remaining five “dark pearls” and returned to the dock. When I held these up for the squid to see, one of its tentacles flopped above the water in excitement. I tossed them out, one at a time. The damn thing actually “caught” a few of them before shoveling them into its hidden beak. I’m not sure why they like eating these pearls. Must be… some sort of minerals or nutrients they can get from these things. I’m just glad that once I’d made friends, I wouldn’t have to feed it pearls from two feet away from its horrible bone-crushing beak, surrounded by spiky tentacles.

I spent all day playing with nightmare fuel. I still don't know what to make of it… At some point in the afternoon Lindsay strolled down for her swim, took one look at what I was doing and damn near charged into battle with an angry roar, that startled the squid and caused it to dash away… By the time I got Lindsay to calm down, it was already out of sight. I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I hope it comes back. Squid are kind of fascinating… even when they aren’t the size of buildings. And… now I know its friendly. At least this one is, anyway. You aren’t going to catch me approaching any others in the wild. This place and its weirdness... what do you do when a freaking monster wants to play ball with you? And how do you explain to it that you still find it fucking terrifying?

-

The squid came back! I’m not really sure of the gender. No clue how to sex a squid… But my gut says it’s a female. I was thinking up names for most of the evening as I hung out with other friends. I had it narrowed down to “Kraken” or “Cthulhu.” I’m going with Kraken, since I’ve already got a “Lovecraft.” Besides, Cthulhu was green, and this lovable abomination is mostly pinkish. Let’s see if I can teach her and the other sea creatures to make nice. Lindsay still isn’t sure she trusts the big squid. I honestly don’t blame her. I still shudder when I glimpse those limbs moving through the water.

-

Ugh… Kraken flipped my boat… I think I can get it righted and fixed up… but she won’t stop playing with it. She keeps, tugging it around, or… trying to sink it or something. I should probably jump in and teach her a command for “no.” But I’m… still a bit scared to get in the water with her. The boat might be hers for the foreseeable future.

-

The dolphins and Kas are now friends with Kraken. The sharks are mostly indifferent. They’re willing to swim to the dock for their morning treats again at least. The dolphins and the whale have started playing keep-away. They swim and dash around Kraken's writhing tentacles, trying to avoid getting grabbed. It looks like Kraken can grab them without hurting them too. I'm reaching a point where I trust her enough not to hurt them.

-

Shit… I lost a dolphin. Rest in peace Crush… More things to watch out for in the seas. You’re mostly safe with a giant monster squid swimming with you… but that only works in open water.

So here’s what happened. I finally got back in the water for the first time this morning. After all, Kraken is part of the homestead now… I needed to train her up. I got my scuba gear on and me, the dolphins, Kas, and Kraken went on a little swim. Kraken learned how to respond to my drum commands very quickly. She learned “no” first though… because she tried to take the oxygen tank right off my back and almost drowned me… When I started banging rapidly, her tentacle shot away like she’d been burned. When she did that, I swam up to her and gave her a reaffirming pat. As I said, she’s very smart. Hopefully she wont kill me with her curiosity in the future.

We dove down a bit, and the dolphins and I swam through a narrow reef. It was too narrow for Kraken, or even Kas, so they swam above the straights, looking down on us. While we made our way through that, we were attacked. These were a new one for me. They look like glowy eels. They don't look that threatening really. Just some unusually large eel like creatures with bio-luminescent scales along their body. They hide themselves well in reefs. If you see them, get away. They’re always in groups, and they have a god damn electrical attack. Underwater, that's just not playing fair. Before I knew what happened, I was painfully jolted. My teeth locked, my body spasmed, and I floated their paralyzed as a small swarm of these things advanced towards us. They zapped at my dolphins as well. After that was a bit of a blur. But when I regained my senses and stabbed the eel chewing on my leg, I swam upwards. I called on the rest of my friends to follow. We reconvened above as Kraken rushed towards us, preparing to attack. 

It was then I looked down, and to my dismay, I saw Crush had tried to flee. He was now a few hundred yards away from us, still being zapped by eels. I tried to call him back to me… but in his panicked state… He didn’t see the approaching Megaladon. I’m sorry Crush…

I didn't have time to mourn though. The eels were chasing us. They even zapped at Kraken. They were a bit too small for her to grab, but she could stun them by whacking them. It was actually Kasatka that saved us from those squirmy assholes. I’m not really sure how, but he’s immune to the eel’s electrical attack. They fired bolt after bolt at him, but he just calmly swam up to them and scarfed them up.

The shark that ate Crush, was apparently still hungry… and also blind. It came at my other dolphins despite the Lovecraftian nightmare swimming near us… Nobodies fault but yours you ass. Kraken took her time killing that shark. As it approached, she lurched for it, her arms spread wide, and then she swung them closed around the wild shark. Like when she caught Sharknado, she started with a big spiky hug, but she pulled those arms tight, crushing most of the life from her prey as her spiky protrusions drained its blood. It was still alive when she pulled it towards her beak. I looked away as the beak chomped bloodily through the shark’s head. Serves him right. 

Once it was over we came home and I mourned. I haven’t known my water friends long… but they have definitely brightened my life up a bit with their presence. I’ll miss you Crush. 

Me and many of my water friends have burns I need to try and heal now. But I am a lot more confidant in Kraken’s loyalty to us, and how I can utilize her. The most common creatures in these waters are the giant sharks. I’ve got something bigger and meaner than them now. Maybe I can get back to exploring the deep after all.


	14. Entry 46: Nearly Devoured, for the "Devoured"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne tackles the "Dead Island"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one feels a bit shorter. Sorry about that...

We're back! No casualties. Oh wait, I forgot to write about what I was doing… Okay, so a little over a week ago, I noticed Kraken and Lindsay had made friends. They like to wrestle. Their thrashing creates small waves that the Raptors have started playing in... But anyway, it got me thinking. Lindsay is a swimmer. She probably couldn’t out swim a shark or a dolphin, but she’s still plenty quick. I doubt she would mind swimming alongside my boat. If Kraken came too, I knew she’d be protected from water threats. Why does this matter? Well, it helped me form a plan to handle the infamous “Dead Island.”

I’d sail there with my Raptors on board, and Lindsay and Kraken swimming alongside us. Once we reached the Island, Lindsay could escort the Raptors and I to the cave. If the number of oversized predators got too overwhelming, she could just dive back into the water and we could see if any Rex’s wanted to test their mettle against a giant angry cephalopod.

It took a few days to get the boat fixed up. Kraken didn’t get bored with it for like… a week. It was water logged and some parts were cracked from all her squeezing. So I got Lindsay to help me drag it ashore and I got it fixed up.

A few days later, we were fully supplied and ready to go. Once again it was all smooth sailing. Heh. Well there was a moment of panic when the whole boat lurched to a halt, hard enough that I went sprawling to the deck. I got to my feet, and dashed from port to starboard trying to figure out if we hit something… or something hit us. All I could see was Lindsay, treading water next to us. “Wait. Where’s my squid? How does a sixty foot giant disappear!?”

So it turns out what had happened was… Kraken hitched a ride. She lightly wrapped her appendages around parts of the hull and dangled there, upside down, on the bottom of the boat, like a giant barnacle. Her grabbing us had slowed us enough to cause that lurch. Once I figured that out, I let her keep her spot and got back to sailing. She slowed us down a bit… but honestly, I thought it was adorable. On occasion she’d reach a tentacle up over the side and the Raptors would try to catch it. So the sailing bit was kind of pleasant…

That couldn’t last of course... "Dead Island" lived up to its name. Just like Helena wrote about in her notes, it’s all carnivores there. I wasn’t expecting a cakewalk, but damn. That place tested every skill I had. It’s bizarre. Not only is it all carnivores… but its not exactly thick with foliage either. A few palm trees, and that was it. It was all rocks, grass patches and sand. Why would there be a place full of carnivores, but no… hunting ground? Were the animals here in a constant battle royale? Do they just keep fighting and eating till they lose a fight and get eaten? That seems to be exactly whats happening there. It explains why everything was so... ferocious.

As we pulled the boat onto the beach, I hopped on Lindsay as she came ashore, and we moved forward to clear a “landing zone.” Lindsay scattered the Raptors and the Dilos that were there, but her growls drew in a Rex and some angry Carnos. Unlike other wild beasts I’ve encountered, the creatures on this island didn’t shy away from a fight.

Don’t get me wrong though, they aren’t like Psycho or Ghost, but back on the mainland, even the biggest baddest Rex’s weren’t so quick to charge into battle with Lindsay. It’s like my dad told me, “Most animals don’t want to fight for their food.” But that’s the freaking law of the land on Dead Island.

Still, Lindsay and I were tougher. I had her catch the first Carno to reach us and shove him into the path of the other. That got those two into a fight of their own. For the Rex, I had Lindsay back us up, into the water. I wasn’t sure the Rex would fall for it and come for us, but it did. We baited the Rex into coming just far enough out, then watched the look of horror appear on its face as the lovely Miss Kraken yanked its feet out from under it. She then dragged it, kicking and thrashing into deeper water. It took about five minutes for the bubbles to stop… and the water to turn red. Kraken, you are beautiful… and horrifying.

The Carnos gave up on one another and came charging at us. Lindsay knocked one over with a single swipe. The other she wrestled down and crushed its neck in her jaws. The other one seemed to be dead, so I got Lindsay to pull the boat ashore, so the Raptors could disembark. It seems the smell of dead animals caused a frenzy though. Next thing I knew, chaos broke out as a small army of smaller predators charged us. It seems they weren’t scared of Lindsay anymore. I didn’t have time to get back in her saddle, so I fought alongside my Raptor pack. I hate to brag… but I’ve gotten really good at this. I had all my armor and equipment, so I made it through that fight with only a few bruises and a kill count of a dozen, and that was without firing my guns.

But then another god damn Rex came around the corner. Seriously, fuck “Dead Island.” I put a shotgun shell in that one’s knee, which allowed Lindsay to wrestle it down easier. Then more Raptors showed up. It was endless. And the bastards started sprinting for our boat. Why did they even care? I got frustrated by the third wave. There was no way Lindsay could keep up the fighting and protect the boat by herself. I’ve handled a cave on my own before. Maybe I didn’t need the pack. I decided to chance it. If we lost the boat, we were stranded here. I left Hawk in charge of Finch, Robin, and Bluejay. Their job was to defend the boat. That would let Lindsay focus on driving off bigger predators. I took Crow and Raven with me into the cave. We had to be quick. I wasn’t gonna leave Lindsay to fight by herself for too long. We sprinted for the entrance, which was hard to miss, as it’s close to some ruins.

It's a bit strange. It's plenty big for Raptors or something of similar size. Just make sure that whatever it is can swim. After passing through the first tunnel you enter a chamber with a sizable pool of water. You have to actually dive in and pass through a tunnel to enter the cave proper. I was pretty scared of piranhas but it's not far. We swam through a two-meter tunnel, and ended up surfacing in a sort of dome-shaped cave. Ahead of us was a massive pit. Boy did I wish I had climbing equipment. The only way forward was to cross the narrow and precarious rock pathways that looped all around the dome, taking us lower and lower. On top of that, it’s full of those asshole monster Bats. I can’t stress enough how careful you need to be in there. Some of the rock pathways are narrow enough that the Raptors had to cross single file. It didn't help that I was in a rush. I decided the safest way to climb down was to stay off the Raptor’s back and lead them single file down the slopes.

It was a harrowing adventure. I stuck to my spear to kill the bats that attacked us. I knew, as soon as I fired my gun, we’d alert a whole swarm of them. Raven and Crow did their part too. They’d claw the animals out of the air and leap on them to finish them off. How they were brave enough to leap on such narrow pathways is beyond me. Every time they did, gave me a heart attack.

We reached a spot with just enough room for us to spread out a bit. I started making lots of noise. I shouted, stomped, and fired my rifle. It worked just as I wanted it too. A large number of the cave's bats, disturbed by the racket, came diving at us.

Bats were more of a nuisance to me at this point, but there's still a risk they can make you violently ill. They also came in greater numbers than usual. I found myself wondering if I hadn't bit off more than I could chew, as the creatures attempted to chew on me. I was wearing my new metal armor though. It did its job well. Despite the cramped area we were fighting in, we managed to kill or chase off the bat swarm. With most of the potential attackers gone I felt safer leading my troops down the narrow ledges. Crow stumbled once or twice. I actually had throw my arms around his body and hoist him back to keep him from tumbling to his death. Like I said. Be very careful. This cave could very easily kill you.

So we carefully made our way down. We were maybe fifty feet from the bottom, I could see the artifact from the ledge I stood on. Then one of those asshole bats decided to be brave again. I came so close to losing Raven, my best friend, in that moment. The thing dove from above and rammed itself right into her side, I think it was actually trying to pull her off the ledge. As if on instinct, I dropped my weapons and threw my arms around her front, and under her arms. Every single muscle in my body screamed as I was suddenly supporting all of Raven’s weight by myself… but holy shit I managed to hang on. I wouldn't be able to hold like that for more than a few seconds, but damn it, I held on. Raven finally processed what was happening and squawked in terror. I've never heard her make that sound before. Her arms wrapped around my back, clinging to me for dear life. Her claws burrowed right between the chinks of my armor, into my flesh. Still I held on.

Those seconds felt like hours to my overtaxed muscles, but finally Raven got her feet under her, digging her sickle claws into the rock, taking some of her weight off of my poor back. Slowly, with her climbing, and me pulling, we pulled her back up onto solid ground and to safety. Crow was viciously shredding the bat that almost killed his daughter. It had all happened so damn fast, one minute were making our way down, the next, I'm giving everything I've got to pull my friend back up a cliff. My back was bleeding bad from Raven’s claws and I think I pulled something… or everything, but there wasn't much I could do at the time.

We moved on. We got the artifact, then we began the precarious climb back up the walkways. We made it. We got out of the tunnel, helped Lindsay finish off a T-Rex, then we loaded up the boat and got the hell off that island.

A few days later, we were all home. I'm pretty proud of myself. I always am when I get the chance to save the life of one of my friends. Raven has been way more snugly with me than usual. I'm not complaining.

The artifact we obtained was labeled as “artifact of the Devourer.” It’s for the blue Obelisk. The inscription read “To consume is to become, and to become is to evolve.” I’ve eaten Rex and Raptor. Where’s my death bite and murder claws? Stupid artifacts. I’ve got two blue artifacts now. One more.

Next on my list, is to search the sea floor. I hope Kraken is the biggest thing down there…  
  


Here’s a painting of Raven, pretending she’s “Queen of the World!”


	15. Entry 47: Revenge of the Terror from the Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne discovers a sea cave... but which one...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again, this ones a shorty, and it took me a while. I'm having trouble deciding how to divide the rest up...

Huh… That was… suspiciously easy… Then again, not much wants to step up when you’ve got a sea-monster on your side. I now have all three blue artifacts… I’m not going yet. I need to know more. I need to prep an expedition to explore the North. But let me tell you about the first ocean cave I found first.

If you’re planning an undersea excursion of your own, I once again encourage you to not do that. Even with Kraken, it’s terrifying down there. I spent three days waiting for another load of jerky to dry, so I could take food with me. I also figured out an easy way to fabricate myself some crystal bottles. They’re a bit heavy, but with them I can carry liquids or pastes safely under water. The jars float a bit, but the Sharks don’t even notice their pull, so no worries there.

I crafted a few leather bands that Kraken let me strap to her mantle so I she can carry stuff for me. She’s learned to use it as a tool belt… I’m serious. Anything she finds that interests her, she’ll stick into the belt. I found several of my old tools, some shiny ore rock, and one of my old boots wedged in there so far. I need to stop leaving things near the water…

So with all of my equipment, and two fresh scuba tanks, I set off with with Kas, Kraken, and the Sharks. Just like my last trip, we descended slowly, till we reached the bottom, which I’d guess was about two hundred meters down. Things seem to get bigger the deeper you go, but even at that depth, most of the things we encountered darted away once Kraken made her presence known. Not everything of course. Those Plesiosaurs are pretty hefty, and I swear they always travel in pairs. Three different times, the jerks were brave enough to try and attack Kasatka. He got a pretty nasty bite, but Kraken and the Sharks made short work of the attackers.

That was when I discovered something though. Kas doesn’t do well in deep water. After he got wounded, I noticed he just… seemed ill. I’d been riding on him, and I could hear him start… grunting. Like he was in pain. I was worried, so I (slowly this time) got us to the surface. When we got there, we weren’t far from the Red obelisk, in the south west corner of the Island. Once we reached the surface waters, Kas stopped grunting in pain. Was he hurting that whole previous trip? Poor guy. I had him float there while I put some medi-paste on his bite wound.

After that, we rested for a bit. I ended up sitting on Kraken’s head for a while. When she floats on the water’s surface, the ridges and dips of her mantle make a sort of fleshy divot that's actually kinda comfy to sit in. So long as you're prepared for when she dunks herself, its kinda nice. I ate some lunch there feeling a bit whimsical, on my giant nightmare of a cephalopod.

We moved north up the west coast from there. We stayed on the surface so Kas could recover. Periodically I’d ride Mega Shark down to the bottom to look around. We didn’t find anything on the first day of dives, so I swam us home. You’re really not supposed to dive multiple days in a row, so I waited two days before venturing out again. On that second set of dives… we found one of the caves.

I had plenty of supplies and friends, so I figured “fuck it.” That might have been a bit of an error, but we made it. It’s a little harrowing. The tunnels are narrow, and there are nasty biters everywhere. We handled the first section by squeezing Kas and Mega Shark in there and chomping/stabbing our way through. It was just piranhas at first, but then came those eel bastards. If you plan on exploring that ocean cave yourself, bring a Basilosaurus. You’re safe from their electrical attacks when you’re strapped into a basi saddle. That won’t stop their bites, but it will keep you from getting stunned. That shit hurts.

We fought our way through, suffering a few bites, but at about the halfway point of the cave, there’s a place to surface. There's even some rocks to walk around on. I was able to apply medi-paste to soothe wounds from there. Right when I finished with Mega Shark's bleeding fin, Kraken gave me a heart attack. Despite it seeming way too small for her, she found a way to squeeze through the tunnels after us. I suppose I never did signal for her to stop… I just turned around and BAM! Spiky tentacles.

I didn’t even have to worry about the second leg of the journey. Kraken moved passed us and… well… She’s like a freaking blender. When Kas and I followed her through… there weren’t many baddies left. Just a few determined Piranha’s nipping at her mantle. Mega Shark scarfed them up. He and Kas then feasted on the various pieces she left behind (seriously, she’s a blender).

I let the pair munch, and followed my lovable oceanic horror into the next chamber. There was the artifact. I swam down to retrieve it from its pedestal. It was labeled the “Artifact of the Brute.” Its inscription read “ _Striking fear into the hearts of one's enemies may be a crucial component of survival.”_ Not gonna lie, I kinda dig this one. I usually let my bigger, badder, friends do the intimidating for me, but maybe I need to make myself a bit scarier too. Granted, I’m already a crazy woman with a bunch of dangerous pets who lives in the woods… And makes tools from the bones of her fallen foes… And slings a shot gun… Man… I’m a badass.

We made it home a day later. I have the three keys to the next guardian, but I have no idea what it will be this time. I also have no idea how I’m going to get a fighting squad through the snows and up a mountain. Like i said before, I'm planning to mount a more thorough expedition to the snowy north. I can just bring the Rexes. They don’t seem to be hampered by snow, and who the hell’s gonna fight us? Just in case, I’m restocking on arrows and narco-paste. Maybe we’ll do some recruiting while we’re up there, but our main goals are to find a safe way up the mountain, and possibly try to find more explorer notes that will tell me what we’re up against. Wish us luck!


	16. Entry 48: King Kong and... Christmas?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne Journeys to the frozen lands of the north.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!

Ugh. I hate snow. You know, sometimes I think this place is making fun of me. Like my puppet masters are up somewhere just laughing at me and all my misfortune. I have a good idea of what I’m up against now. According to Helena Walker and Mei Yin, the Guardian of the blue obelisk is a massive ape. So basically I have to find a way to kill King Kong. I could sure use the help of a city stomping nuclear dinosaur at this point, but sadly all I’ve got are normal dinosaurs. Well… You know… “Normal.” A lot happened on that trip. I got an artifact, I found another cave, I learned a bunch, made some friends, and I saw something that dropped my jaw so hard I’m still digging it up.

Mei Yin managed to beat the bastard… because apparently she tamed one of those Giganatosaurs. At first I figured “hmm, she managed, why can’t I?” So on our way back I went looking for that Giga I saw at the Frozen Tooth… After what I’ve seen, fuck that. Mei Yin must have been something special to bend one of those things to her will. But I’m getting ahead of myself… Let me tell the tale of my adventure to the frozen north. Here’s the route I took…

So two weeks ago, I packed a small mountain of wood and spark powder into Jimmy’s saddlebags, and got all my gear prepped. I had plenty of food and water, and plenty of fuel for fires. I also packed up my medicine, crossbow, tranq arrows, my rifle, my shotgun.., you get the idea. I was geared up for another long trek. The Rexes seemed excited. They’re always happy to come along with me. As we headed out, we had to pause for an hour or so, because Lindsay invited herself along.

I didn’t try that hard to stop her. She’s one of my closest friends after all, but it worried me a bit. The Rexes apparently have enough blubber in them that the cold doesn’t bother them, but do the Spinos have that kind of blubber? She’s pretty lean looking… 

She had already made up her mind, so I strapped her saddle on and had her take the lead. We kept a nice, steady pace and made our way up through the Western Jungles. Thankfully this time we didn’t find any dinosaur massacres. After three days we made it to that lovely waterfall not far from the snows, and we settled there for a night. The arrival of three angry apex predators at once sent several herds of herbivores stampeding away. We had that whole little valley to ourselves for the evening.

The next day, we crossed that weird “cold curtain” and ventured into the ice. The first few days trudging through the snows… they sucked. I mentioned I hate the cold right? I kept a close eye on Lindsay. She definitely didn’t seem comfortable. But she soldiered on and as far as I could tell she wasn’t suffering from adverse effects. I think as long as she has sunlight she can warm herself up with her sail. I did notice that whenever we stopped, she’d shift to angle her sail towards the sun. Nighttime was a little harder. The first night, I was legitimately afraid she’d freeze to death. I was up most of the night keeping our bonfire nice and hot, but after a while, Lindsay stood up, scooped me up with her foreleg, and gently tossed me into my tent… I took the hint and slept for a few hours.

The next day we kept moving north up the Western Coast. I was seeking a path up the mountain towards the blue obelisk. There’s nothing on the western side of that mountain, and by the time I realized that, we’d hit the water. Rather than slog back in the dark, I decided to make camp. We slept there at the north western corner of the whole map. Before I could fall asleep, a supply drop appeared… It was a godsend.

It contained specially designed ropes with metal hooks on the ends. They can be combined with my crossbow to turn it into a goddamn grappling hook. They're kind of amazing. You fire the grappling hook, latch it onto something, then there's a sort of miniature pulley system in each one, tied to the rope. It's a little complicated to thread into the crossbow properly, but when you do, you can grip the pulley rope by pulling the trigger on the crossbow. In this way, you can use it to climb the rope up or down. Took me several hours of tinkering in the firelight to figure out how to work them.

There was one other piece of climbing equipment too. Spiked toe pieces to make boots into crampons. They don’t quite fit my super awesome boots. I could make some adjustments, but not without my machines. I was able to get them to work by tying them (uncomfortably) tight.

I mention this new climbing gear for a reason. The next morning, since I was camped out on top of the cliff where I knew a cave was located, I decided to see if I could find it and check it out. I had to leave my friends behind. If you search around the cliffs, you’ll eventually find a precarious path leading down. Watch your step, if you go looking for that cave… It’s icy, and falling off means a seventy foot drop onto frozen seas. Bring the climbing equipment, for inside. It’s a necessity in there.

The cave entrance isn’t as wide as it looks from a distance either. You can see it well enough… but most of it is completely frozen over. Not even a Raptor could slip into that entrance… so be prepared to tackle this one alone. There’s baddies, as usual, some spiders, some bats, that's about it. Nothing I couldn’t handle with my machete or shotgun.

Don't mistake me though. It's not easy. The danger lies in honest to god spike pits. The cave is basically a set of tunnels and pathways that loop about and connect randomly, and also lead to sizeable pits lined with icy stalagmites. One slip-up in here, and I could have fallen to a spikey death like I'm Lara Croft. I’m really glad I don’t have her double ds weighing me down. But I digress. Another threat is the obvious one; its full of ice and snow, and its very easy to slip. The crampons and the grappling hook made it a lot easier. I climbed my way through, got the artifact, and then rappelled my way down again so I could get myself out of there. I lost count of the heart palpitations I got during that process... I really don’t like dangling. I now have my first red artifact, the “Artifact of the Skylord.” The inscription read “ _Mastery of the skies confers a distinct advantage over earthbound competition.”_ Yeah… Fuck that.

So day three in the north was a triumph. Day four, it started snowing… I scouted about the northern coast, but with all the cliffs, and ice, I just didn’t think it would be safe for my bigguns. We made our way back the way we came. We turned east, heading around the base of the mountain, still searching for a safe path to the top. But we didn’t get too far. It was just too cold. Lindsay was starting to look uncomfortable. Getting a fire going in that weather wasn’t easy. I had to get all three of my bigguns to stand in strategic spots to guard the wood from the wind and snow while I worked to get it blazing. Fortunately, by the time I got it burning, it wasn’t coming down as hard. I managed to get us almost comfortable, but I still couldn’t feel my fingertips and I hated it.

Day five got off to a flying start when I wandered into a small pack of Direwolves. They attacked me while I was trying to pee… I may have been looking for a slightly warmer spot to do so, and consequently wandered farther from my friends than I should of. They barely made a sound until they launched their attack. Thankfully I smelled them, and heard some slight shifting in the snow. I dodged at the last second, and rolled away from some thick hairy paws. Assholes just filled my pants with snow. That was a bit of a shock when I yanked them back up and faced my attackers. Three of them. A brown one, a grey one, and a cream-colored one, all snarling at me.

Fighting them face to face wouldn’t do me any good, and I was on their home turf. Despite that… I fought them anyway. I weaved myself around trees, taking advantage of my smaller size and flexibility to keep away from their gnashing teeth. They were hardened hunters, experts in their territory, but… either they’re a touch slow, or all that time I spent playing with Raven has sharpened my senses. Keeping away from there teeth was… not easy… but… not difficult either. They’d lunge for me, and I’d roll away, or kick at their legs to trip them up. I even punched their noses a few times. The brown one I kicked in the snout on three separate occasions. He kept lunging for the back of my leg. For a good five minutes, I dodged and clashed, firing tranq arrows at the mighty beasts. Soon the cream-colored one succumbed to my tranq. The other two wised up, and cut me off from the trees I was using to avoid them. They herded me be towards the rocks, putting my back to the wall. The grey one was fading fast but kept coming, and the brown one was still looking angry, but I was still smiling. Cuz I knew about the two-story apex-predator charging straight for them.

“Jimmy! No bite!” I called as my loyal Meathead barreled through the trees. He obediently lowered his head and rammed into the brown wolf, sending it flying into the grey one. They were both out cold after that. I’m surprised Jimmy’s head didn’t kill them. I trudged up to Jimmy to tell him what a good job he did. He did an excited little stompy dance in response, as Lindsay and Miranda stomped up to us. It took a good two hours to rouse the three and feed them friendship treats, but ho boy…

I find the three of them comforting, sure they're slightly taller than I am but they're still... familiar. They look like wolves and behave like dogs once you've made friends with them. Wagging tails, panting tongues, all of it. They’re also big fans of tummy rubs.

The biggest of the trio, the greyish silver beast with a nasty scar on his shoulder, I called Aedan. The other male, the brown one, I called Zach. The last, the cream-colored female, was Anna. They’re named after some friends of mine from back home.

They joined my little excursion after that. The best part of that? Aedan stuck his head between my legs and hoisted me onto his shoulders… You can totally ride the Direwolves. They’ve got plenty of muscle, and lots of thick fur to hold onto. It was a bit of challenge, as I haven’t trained them yet, so we had a bit of trouble acclimating to each other, but still, it kept us moving.

There were lots of beautiful land formations to see; Snowy evergreen forests, icy rock formations adorned with shimmering icicles, plenty of tundra, and a partially frozen river. It’s weird. You’re standing on one side of the river, and its freezing and there’s ice, but you can clearly see it’s warm on the other side, and there’s only light dustings of snow. I wagered I was pretty close to that “cold curtain.” As tempting as a warm night was, I wasn’t dumb enough to try crossing icy water. I didn’t want to risk any friends either. So we kept moving, turning north a bit.

Soon after that we got attacked by an angry mammoth. I'm not sure what we did to anger it. Poor sap. The wolves, Lindsay, and Miranda kept it off balance until Jimmy had an opening for a death bite. Gotta tell ya. Mammoth steaks are pretty damn tasty. They’re like… gamier beef. I was pretty tired at this point. I mean, two battles and plenty of frigid hiking will wear out anyone. Naturally, that just meant this place needed to hit me with another massive obstacle.

I was cutting as much meat and pelt from the mammoth carcass as I could and stuffing it into various saddlebags. It never hurts to have spare food after all. I guess the smell of our kill caught the attention of another gang of predators. I saw them coming from a ways off, and they shamelessly kept right on marching towards us. I whistled to everyone to get them on guard as I pulled out my spyglass for a closer look. There were four figures. Three I recognized as Carnotaurus. But the fourth was bigger. I’d caught glimpses of them during my sailing trip a while ago. The fluffy T-rexes. Its not fur they’re sporting, its thick feathers. These guys have to be Yutyrannus. If I recall this was one of the big fossil finds because they confirmed these creatures would have had feathers. It’s name even means “feathered tyrant.” I still think they just look fluffy. I was more than a little unnerved that this “Fluffy,” and his gang of Carnos were marching fearlessly towards two angry Rexes and one pissed-off Lindsay.

They couldn’t possibly be planning to fight us right? It turns out they were. The Yutyrannus has a clever trick up it’s sleeve. As they drew close, and the Carnos snarled a challenge at us, Fluffy took a really deep breath, then unleashed a roar that dwarfed anything I'd heard on the island before. Not even the Rexes battle cries even came close. I covered my ears but I swear they’re still ringing now. More importantly, Fluffy’s roar had a profound effect on my dinosaur friends. The wolves, and (surprisingly) Jimmy Meathead, suddenly flew into a panic and began running out of control. Lindsay and Miranda stayed with me, but the “super roar” definitely had an effect on them as well. Hell it even effected me. It’s hard to describe, but something about the way that sound washes over you and overpowers everything… my stomach dropped and I felt almost sick with… unease. I was able to fight through the feeling, but not my dinosaur friends. “Oh… You asshole” I thought as the predators charged.

Lindsay and Miranda each charged forward to battle with them. I was pondering whether I wanted to tame these creatures or not… I definitely wanted to tame the Fluffy Rex. But what about the Carnos? I’d tame them if I could, but I wasn’t going to tell Lindsay or Miranda to fight non-lethally. I didn’t want them hurt. I started firing arrows. Things were going well until Fluffy super roared again. This time Lindsay panicked at the sound and fled. I stayed behind Miranda as the beasts converged on her. I was able to put one of the Carnos to sleep during their assault. Miranda snapped the neck of another, but the last Carno lowered its head and rammed its horns into her side. I heard her wheeze as she stepped away. It was charging in to do it again.

I made the choice quick, I didn’t want Miranda hurt anymore. I dropped my bow, and ran in with my shotgun instead. I fired into its knee, which shattered its leg and sent it crashing to the ground. Miranda brought her foot down on the things neck. I winced at the wet sounding crack. We only had Fluffy left now. But of course… he super roared again. Miranda finally succumbed to panic, and for a brief time, I was fleeing for my life as Fluffy came stomping after me. I evaded it with the terrain, firing arrows as I went. Jimmy and Lindsay returned after a bit, seemingly recovered from their panic. “No bite!” I called. Jimmy delivered the head-butts, and Lindsay? The epic bitch slaps. After whacking Fluffy across the face for the umpteenth time, Lindsay wrestled the dazed predator to the ground, where it passed out.

I was a little worried that killing their pack mates might sour our relationship with Fluffy and the one Carno we knocked out, but sharing our mammoth with them seemed to help them forgive. They did give their fallen comrades a few sad looks before we all marched away the next morning. The Carno was a reddish brown female. Her name is Dara-Lyn. Fluffy is… well… he’s Fluffy. Because he’s fluffy. He’s a lovely specimen with rich grey feathers and whitish skin. Watch out for these guys if you ever travel north. Their super roar, for some reason inspires panic in even large animals, and they’re vicious in combat, even when up against Rexes. I let everyone eat while I passed the fuck out in my tent.

The next day we moved north, and I was a little confused when we came across another cave entrance. I remember sitting there trying to remember how many I’d found, and how many I needed. I should only need two more red artifacts right? I’d found the one filled with toxic gas around the Redwood forest, and I thought there was one more somewhere underwater. Is there not another one in the water? Or does the red obelisk need four? It was something I figured I’d figure out later. For now, I’d already beaten one ice cave, I might as well see what this next one had in store.

The wolves followed me in. What I noticed first was how freakishly cold it was compared to outside, and outside was freezing. Even with a full fur suit, I was shivering. There's a bigger problem though. There's a spot in the cave where most of the wall and ceiling has completely frozen over, just like the entrance to the other ice cave. There was only a narrow place for me to crawl through to continue. Not even the Raptors would be able to squeeze through that, much less the Direwolves.

Apparently I’d have to tackle this cave alone. I crawled through the narrow passage, with my shotgun loaded and at the ready. After five minutes, I knew I couldn’t get through this cave on my own, as I was. There are wolves in there with an absolutely feral gleam in their eye. One of them kept chewing on me even after I blasted my gun into its chest. I scrambled away and almost ran into a 12-foot polar bear (that’s 12 feet while on all fours… it was bigger than a regular bear). I fled back to the crawl space and slid under, but the damn bear caught my leg with its claws and dragged me back. I punched it in the nose, and scrambled back under, but not before its jaws closed on my glove. I slipped my hand out of it and crawled back out. I’ll need to come up with a plan for this one. There’s got to be some way to fight through it.

I made my way out and nursed my scratches and scrapes. I was also scanning the mammoth pelt I collected to see if any would be good for carving a new glove. I needed another one fast or I’d lose fingers when the sun set. Before I could pull out the Psyclaw and get to work, another supply drop appeared nearby, and delivered a new set of fur gloves. They were thicker than mine and crafted with care. They were also a hell of a lot easier to move my fingers in. I tossed my old glove into a saddlebag.

We didn’t travel far the rest of that day, just a mile or two, before I found myself some dry wood to sit on. I got another fire built, and just leaned against Lindsay, thinking about how tired I was of getting the shit kicked out of me… I watched Fluffy interact with Jimmy and Miranda. They seemed to be bonding. They’d burble and grunt to one another and sniff at each other. It wasn’t a bad evening by any means… I was just… tired. I also had a sudden hankering for fish, so I grabbed up my spear and a torch and hiked my way down to the frozen river. Lindsay accompanied me.

It was there that I met one last new friend. I was standing on the frozen surface of the river when I spotted a sizable son of a gun drifting near the surface. I managed to spear it, but weirdly, something else started pulling back. Curious, I yanked my spear out of the water, where I discovered an adorable little fluffy tube latched onto my fish with its little people hands. It was an otter. I don’t even think it was a prehistoric otter or anything… just a cute little otter. It looked at me with its mousy face and its big sparkling eyes, and I couldn’t help it… I fell in love. Of course, as soon as I did, the startled creature let go of the fish and (adorably) bound away to a safe distance, but it seems it wasn’t frightened enough to give up on it’s fish. I kept my movements slow and steady so I wouldn’t startle the creature. I gently slid the fish over to where it was sitting, and watched it tentatively nibble at it while keeping its big bright eyes on me. After a few minutes of nibbling, it started working its little paws across a portion of the fish, scraping off scales and peeling off a small chunk of fish meat. I thought it was gonna hop away with it’s prize, but instead it hopped right towards me, sat up on its back legs, and held out its paws in front of it, presenting the chunk of fish to me, like it was giving me a gift. My heart melted further. Somehow I kept it together, and carefully took the fish from its little hands. I feigned excitement with my movements, which seemed to satisfy the little creature, who then returned to its meal. After taking a few more bites, it hopped into my lap to give me some sniffs… I lost it. It was too… damn… CUUUUUUUTE!!!

I spent a good twenty minutes playing with my new furry friend. Her name is Penelope. I wasn’t sure she was ready trust me enough to come back with me, but then, as I was turning to leave, she climbed her way up my torso to perch on my shoulder. She wrapped her long body around the back of my neck and made herself comfortable, murmuring happily when I scratched her little chin. We made it back to the fire, and the wolves gave my new friend a sniff. She was a bit frightened at first, but then she hopped playfully onto Aedan’s nose to take a closer look at him. Being that adorable shouldn’t be possible… I’d forgotten my fish while I was making friends, and Lindsay had scarfed it up. But the supply drops took care of me again. One of them appeared not far from camp, and inside was something unusual. It was a bowl of piping hot fish stew. I’ve never gotten food from these supply drops. Where did it come from? Who cooked it? I wasn’t unhappy about it, but it did make me remember how lonely I was. It was creamy, and delicious, and warmed my chilled bones. After that, I went to sleep, feeling a little melancholy until little Penelope joined me.

There’s a practical use for these little guys too besides adorable fluffy companionship. Penelope snuggled up with me and I noted how… warm she was. Not sure how they do it, but they’re little furnaces. I slept in comfort for the first time that whole trip. It still wasn’t warm enough to take off my furs, but still… When she’s wrapped around my neck, I feel that much more comfortable. They’re an excellent addition if you need extra help to stay warm.

So that was day six. Day seven, I finally found what I came to find. On the east side of white sky peak, there's a small rocky path, just big and even enough for marching my dinosaur troops up the mountain. I'd have to lead them up single file. It was too narrow, icy, and dangerous to risk bringing them up side by side, I wasn't about to risk one of my friends dying to a mountain, not after we bested a monster spider. I rode the wolves all the way to the top, just to be sure. The top of the mountain is completely flattened out and bathed in the blue light of the obelisk above. There’s some sort of ruins up there. It almost looks like there used to be a temple or something. The terminal is near the center of a huge circle right below the mysterious spire. I didn’t stay long. I had the information I needed. I poked around just long enough to find a few more of Helena’s notes. Whi thin them, I learned about my upcoming for.

Like I said early on in this entry, Helena and the Beast Queen challenged the Guardian, a massive ape, and defeated it. If it was an ape, it likely wouldn't be spitting gobs of acid at me like the spider did, though I'm not ruling it out. I'm guessing we’re in for a fierce melee battle. It was likely going to be way stronger than any one of my friends. Would two Rexes be enough? No. I would need to bring Lindsay too if we're going to stand a chance. I’d probably need Fluffy, Bob, the Trikes, all of my fighters really. I still couldn’t believe Mei Yin somehow tamed a Giganotosaurus. While I was up their reading, I wondered if it would be possible for me to tame one too.

I got us moving down the mountain. I had everything I wanted from the snowy North at this point. I was eager to get out of the cold. We met up with Lindsay and the others and made our way south. My plan was to take us southwest, between the “Grand Hills” volcano, and “The Frozen Tooth” mountain. Maybe I could catch a glimpse at that first Giga I saw. We made it out of the snows, before nightfall, and I could finally sleep without my (super sweaty) furs clinging to me all night. Lindsay was super happy to be out of the cold. She stretched herself out and relaxed by the fire. It was nice… Then day eight happened… and dashed my hopes of ever taming a Giga.

But first… I was hit with a dose of déjà vu. Early in the morning, I was awakened by Lindsay’s roar. I scrambled out of my tent. She was up on her hind legs in battle mode. She roared again into the distance. “Fuck. She smells a predator,” I thought. “Please don’t be another Ghost.”

It was another fucking Ghost. Even with Jimmy, Miranda, Lindsay, and Fluffy all roaring into the distance to chase away whatever they smelled, I still felt the tremors of a Rex’s footfalls coming towards us. If I’d had time to actually teach my new friends some more commands, I might have tried fighting with the thing, but as we were, only Lindsay and my Rexes would be at their best. Ghost had been able to throw even Lindsay around like a ragdoll. As strong as they were, I still wasn’t sure we could fight another Ghost. I got us all up, and moving. I left my tent behind.

We made our way south, as quick as we could… But the bastard Alpha kept following us. After a few hours, it caught up. It was a sickly yellow color underneath all the gore and entrails. Why do all the alpha’s have such weird colors? My new friends didn’t comprehend my “retreat” command yet. But I whistled anyway to my Rexes. I watched just long enough to know that the others understood and they all began running away, before Lindsay and I turned to face the threat. We stood there just long enough to get it’s attention. I waited until I was sure it was focused on us, and then I gave Lindsay the order. “RUN!” On all fours, Spinos can move pretty quick. Way faster than an average Rex. The Alpha however, managed to keep pace with us. It chased us for several miles. We were gaining distance on the bastard… slowly. I was leaning over, trying to see behind us, so I was almost thrown from the saddle when Lindsay suddenly skidded to a halt. When my panic dissipated I looked up to see what had stopped her… and then my panic came right the fuck back.

We’d run headlong right into Giga territory. Thirty yards in front of Lindsay and I, stood a Giganatosaurus. It was the same one from before. Same colors. I’ll be calling him Big Mac.

Big Mac wasn’t quite as hostile initially as I expected. His head turned lazily towards the noise in his territory until he saw us. He cocked his head and sniffed a few times in our direction. He seemed more curious than angry. That faded fast. He realized Lindsay was a rival predator, and he wasn’t happy about another one being all up in his space. He didn’t immediately charge into combat though. He stomped his feet, bared his teeth and growled at us. I swear that monster’s growl was low enough to loosen the bowels of the tightest of asses. But I recognized the behavior. I see a lot of it. It’s not the behavior of a murder machine. It’s the behavior of a nervous animal that wants a potential threat to go away. Big Mac had a brain in him. I sobered up quick when I remembered the alpha Rex in hot pursuit. I had Lindsay move us slowly and deliberately around the snarling behemoth. He kept his eyes on us but he didn’t charge.

Before we could get away, the alpha burst through the trees. Big Mac shifted his focus to the new threat. As soon as he saw the bloody Rex he went into battle mode. He roared in anger and charged. The alpha was forced to give up its pursuit of us to deal with the angry titan. A battle of epic proportions broke out. An unrelenting psychotic Rex, against the biggest baddest predator I’ve ever seen. For a time, it looked like the two were evenly matched. Even with his size advantage, Big Mac just couldn’t seem to hurt the alpha Rex. He chomped, and swiped, but the alpha just kept going. Soon enough, the alpha seized an advantage. It rammed its head into Big Mac’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. Then he lunged for Mac’s throat. Mac evaded the move, but the alpha’s jaws closed around its arm. I have no idea where the alpha’s strength comes from, but soon it was wrenching the giant around, and I honestly thought it was going to wrench Mac to the ground and kill him.

But a strange thing happened. Something in Mac’s eyes changed. Like a flash of some sort. The rationality I’d seen earlier disappeared. In its place was a feral rage that shook me to the core. Next thing I knew, Mac wrenched his arm free of the alphas jaws, losing skin in the process. Then wrapped his torso around it. There was a brief period where the pair wrestled with one another, but whatever advantage the alpha had before vanished in the face of Big Mac’s fury. My jaw dropped as Mac’s jaws closed around the Alpha’s throat, and he lifted it off the ground with ease. With a shake of his head he’d snapped its neck. Then, he leaned down, building up momentum, and he fucking tossed the lifeless alpha corpse into the air. It sailed a good thirty feet, and crashed to the ground sliding to a halt, kicking up dirt and flattening plant life as it went, not far from Lindsay and I.

“… Holy shit…” was all I could manage. All that was left of the Rex that could have rivaled Ghost, was pile of broken bones that twitched weakly as life slipped away from it. I really should have started running a long time ago… Watching two terrifying forces battle is just… really hard to look away from. I glanced up at Mac. He was roaring in triumph. But then his eyes fixed on Lindsay and I. “Oh balls. Lindsay… RUN!” The next ten minutes were the some of the most harrowing of my life. Mac was still seething with fury and he was eager to take it out on us. We only escaped when we made it to the river between the mountainous northern region and the Redwood forest.

As Lindsay dove into the water and swam away, I heard Mac roar in fury behind us. From Lindsay’s back, I risked a look. Big Mac skidded to a halt at the water’s edge. There was no doubt in my mind. The Giga was afraid of the water. He kept his furious eyes on us as we swam further and further away… but then his eyes changed again. It’s like a flash or something. Then he was looking quizzically around, like he forgot what he was doing. I tapped Lindsay to get her to stop. She seemed really confused by that order, but she complied. I watched as Big Mac, who legitimately seemed to have lost interest in us, turned and stomped his way back towards his mountain home.

Yeah, no fucking way am I going to attempt taming one of those. The Giganatosaurus is already an apex predator among apex predators on this island. But apparently that wasn’t enough for whoever made all this. It’s also got a freaking berserker mode that makes it strong enough to pick up and throw a psychotic, 15-ton, alpha Rex, with little effort. Mei Yin must have been… something extraordinary.

It took three freaking days to round up the rest of my friends. They’d broken off into groups after our retreat. Jimmy and Miranda hadn’t wandered very far. Fluffy and Dara-Lyn had made it all the way to the volcano, and the Wolves, I didn’t find until two days later. They were around the river. It took us another two days to get home.

So now here I am, feeling a little broody. How the hell am I going to fight with a giant ape that Mei Yin needed a Giga to bring down? Could I do it without casualties? I’m somewhat doubtful. I’ll need time to plan this one out. But first, I think its time for a bonfire and a lot of alcohol. It’ll be a welcoming party for Fluffy and the gang.

-

Woah. That was fucking weird. I’ve had a lot to drink though. I thought I saw something up in the sky while I was drunkenly banging on my drums. I grabbed my spyglass to check it out and… Well… It looked like a sleigh being pulled along by reindeer. With a rocket on the back. Is it freaking Christmas? There’s no way I actually saw that right? So much alcohol. Then again, I did receive some pretty awesome gifts during that journey through the snow… Maybe… No. Dinosaurs are one thing, but magical Christmas deities? No way. Though I guess it could be mechanical. This place teleports stuff. Maybe it makes it look like there’s a Santa in the sky, and they teleported me some gifts. Some climbing equipment perfect for the cave I was camping near, some fish stew when I was craving fish, and a new set of fur gloves after one of mine got stolen. That has to be coincidence though. How about something to make me feel more human? Bleh. There’s no way I saw a sleigh in the sky. I need to get some rest.

-

Ok. It’s the next morning. I still need to go out and get my chores done, but something happened. I didn’t remember my drunken vision at first. When I headed out in the morning, there was a supply drop right there on my peninsula. Inside… There was a pair of scissors and a hand mirror. Then I remembered. I came back in to read what I wrote. I was so sure I saw something in the sky. But it couldn’t be right? But then… Why did I get a mirror and a pair of scissors after writing “how about something to feel more human?” I think I’m gonna go and get my chores done. Then I think I’ll take a good long look into the mirror.

-

I’ve looked in the mirror. I barely recognized the woman looking back at me. She was hardened, with tanned skin, scars on her face, a missing tooth, her corn colored hair was wild and misshapen, and her eyes were weary. But despite all of that… It was definitely me. Somehow that old punk-rock spirit of mine has survived this ordeal. But she had been slipping away. I decided to clean up my hair. I only cut chunks of it off when it starts getting in my eyes, so the end result is really just a big old mess. With the scissors and a mirror I cleaned it up and even styled it a bit. For those who know what I’m talking about, I went for a nice simple “shaggy bob” look. My hair always was a little wild, so I always preferred to work with it. I went outside and plucked out one of Raven’s feathers and used it as reference to make a new dye. I used it to streak some of my bangs into a nice dark maroon, so that me and my girl, Raven, match. It looks pretty good. It’s practical too, so long as I keep the bangs under control it wont get in my eyes. I can tuck it up in a rag if I need to as well.

So now… I feel more like me. More human. More like the woman I used to be. Which is exactly what I wanted when I drunkenly wrote it last night. Huh… Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays readers... I guess...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know, Yutyrannus roar isn't supposed to work on Rexes or Spinos.


	17. Entry 49: Mega Monkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne discusses whether she's ready to fight a giant ape or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but don't worry, the next chapter is coming too. It won't even take a few weeks.

Okay readers. I got back from the snowy north ten days ago. Sadly, the mysterious force that kept giving me things I wanted, stopped, so no “go home” buttons or super rifles for me sadly… But hey, if that was Christmas, then New Years must have happened recently too… Happy New Year readers! Happy New Year Rayne… I wonder what year it even is. 

I’ve been training my friends for the last week and a half. Fluffy and all my snowy friends are trained and integrated into the homestead. I was a bit worried they wouldn’t adapt to warm weather. I have noticed that the wolves are shedding a fair bit, and I’ve been finding Fluffy feathers scattered about. I hope they haven’t lost too much, because they’re all coming back north with me. There were a few spats between Diddy and Penelope over who gets to sleep on my pillow, or sit on my lap, but they’ve learned to share me, and I even see them playing together… I needed some extra cuteness.

Aside from that, I’ve also been getting ready for a fight with a colossal gorilla. I put everyone through a bit of special training. I’ve taught Lindsay, Fluffy, and the Rexes to “dodge.” Well… sort of. Everything already instinctively leans away from possible damage… I just honed it a bit. I used the fabricator to make myself a lightweight pole. I couldn’t move particularly fast with it, but it worked for my purpose. I made a sort of game with the big ones, where I’d poke at their heads with the pole and tell them to dodge. Once they got the idea, I started swinging it lightly… in what I hoped would be like a gorilla swinging its arms. In this way, I trained them all up in close quarters ape combat… at least I hope.

During training two days ago, and I feel kind of bad about this, I got to test out my four bigguns against an angry Brontosaurus. The thing looked wounded and panicked already when it came stomping up the hill to the cliffs above our home, where I was training my friends. Fluffy’s “super roar” didn’t turn it around. A fight broke out, and we all performed beautifully. Miranda dodged its tail swipe and she and Jimmy charged in to grab its legs as I commanded. They were having trouble wrestling the big beast down, but Fluffy’s got another trick. He’s got his “super roar” which causes everything to panic and flee, but he’s also got what I call the “battle roar.” It has an… invigorating effect on my friends and I. You feel it in your bones, and it just makes you pumped up for battle. With his “encouragement” the Rexes wrestled the giant down, where Lindsay and Fluffy pinned down its head. Lindsay grabbed hold of its neck to crush the life out of it. I didn’t want to torture the poor thing though, so I shot it in the head with my shotgun.

It’s right side had a doozy of a bite in it. I figured out there’s another Rex camped out a few miles to the west. It’s far enough away that I’m not too worried it will try attack while we’re gone. It must have attacked this Bronto and chased it to us, but it didn’t dare encroach on our territory. Poor Mr. Bronto. For what it’s worth, I, and all of my predators found you delicious. I hope you rest easy. I also really hope your bones disappear, cuz damn they take up a lot of space. We’ve been feasting and relaxing all day. I even carved off enough Bronto to give Kraken and the sea beasts a nice big helping. Everyone is feeling fed and happy, so I think it’s time.

The four of them were fantastic. All four of them will be coming with me. They’re my new and improved “Team Big.” “Team Less Big” will be joining us too. They consist of the Trikes, the lovely Shea and the stoic Samson, my squad of Carnos, speedy Jimbo, clever Billy-Joe, and the big brute Dara-Lyn, the sloth brothers, Chewie and Cousin It, the mighty Therizinosaurus, Bob the (motherfucking) Builder, and, and this may seem an odd choice but I will explain, my wolf pack, Aedan, Zach, and Anna, will be coming as well. They’re on the smaller side, despite being as tall as me, but they’ve got a hell of a bite, and they’re fast deadly in the snow. My plan is to have them charging in to bite at the Ape’s legs. If there are minions, they’ll be helpful for fighting them off. Oh, also, Penelope will come with me and keep herself wrapped around my neck, which will keep me warm in the snow, and give me emotional support at the same time.

With Fluffy’s new “battle roar” I honestly like our odds. We’re trained, I have plenty of ammo and weapons, everyone has some light armor strapped on… We’re as ready as we can get. Furthermore, Azalea, Nikki, and Minaj, work well with the Raptors and Gaara as a defense force… I really don’t need to worry about the sea with Kraken patrolling the shores. 

So tomorrow we set out once more for the snowy north. We’re going to hunt us a guardian.


	18. Entry 50: The Blue Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne takes on the beast of the Blue Obelisk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't going to let that last shorty be my only chapter this time.

I'm back. We won. There were casualties. One of them… really hurts. I want to commemorate the battle as best I can. Anyone who reads this will know how brave my friends were.

It was a three-day journey to the mountain peak. We started strong. Lindsay hummed in excitement when I told her we had a “big fight” coming. As we left, Raven kept trying to come with us. Three times I had to escort her home, one of which was after slogging across a river. I can’t blame her. I miss her too. It’s not that I’ve been avoiding her, I’ve just been so busy the last month and a half. All these journeys, and battles… I haven’t had time to hang with my Raptor pack as much. She's been super affectionate with me since I saved her in that one cave. Once I finally got her home and shouted at her to “STAY!” We got back to our journey. Things went smooth after that. Three days later, we were at the base of the dreaded mountain. The Direwolves lead the way. I brought my squad up the mountain a few at a time (or one at a time with the bigguns). The slopes are treacherous. The “safest” path up has icy pathways, jagged rocks, and hundred foot drops waiting at the slightest misstep.

Slowly, and carefully, we all made it to the top. I gathered us all close to the pedestal beneath the Obelisk, while fear and doubt began to bombard my stomach. We rested up. By nightfall, I had a bonfire burning, and food cooking. The journey there was as successful as it could have been, aside from one small detail. Apparently we had a stalker. I woke the next morning, cocooned in furs and otter. Shaking the snowy dusts off myself, I stood up and found none other than Raven asleep near the ashes of the fire. I lightly kicked her to wake her up. She looked up at me glaring at her and cringed. I swear she looked like a dog you caught chewing on the bed sheets. She likely came out of hiding to warm up by the fire and fell asleep. I was pretty pissed at her. But what could I do? Even with all the unease and trepidation I was feeling, I just couldn’t stay mad at her.

I figured she would be safe waiting on the summit until we returned. After breakfast, I ordered her to stay put, while I gathered everyone else and pushed the artifacts into their slots. The obelisk hummed, light surrounded us, I took a deep breath as it engulfed us, breathing in strength, and breathing out terror… then Raven sprinted up beside me... goddamn it Raven…

It was too late, the obelisk teleported us all to somewhere new. Once I was done shouting at Raven, who stood before me, with a “what did I do?” look on her face, I scanned our surroundings. We were standing on top of mountain, like before, but this was a different one. We seemed to be even higher up. Beautiful lifeless tundra and mountains spread to the horizon, below an icy blue sky. We were standing on what looked like an ancient road made of cobblestone. The area of the mountain we were on appeared to have been carved away. The rest was jagged and… kind of aggressive looking. The path we were on lead to a set of stone stairs that lead up to an ancient ruined temple of sorts, like some sort of Tibetan monastery.

The cold was cutting, and gusts of wind blew icy powder all over us. I got us moving forward. I noted how, unlike the spider, the Ape wasn't immediately visible. We moved along the only path available to us, up the stairs and into the temple, which turned out to be a massive arena (of course). Sitting in a giant stone archway, on the opposite side, was the mighty ape itself. He took one look at us and roared, beating his chest and stomping the ground in rage. Then he leapt off his perch. The mountain shook with the impact as he landed in the arena.

I allowed myself a moment of fright. He had to be thirty feet tall at least. He was covered in shaggy white fur. His skin was dark almost silvery, but it was only visible on his chest, his meaty fists, his feet, and his horrid face. Picture every image of a murderous angry ape you’ve ever seen in a movie, whether it was a live gorilla, a man in a rubber mask, a stop-motion puppet, or a computer animated beast… this thing somehow embodied all of it in one ferocious package. He seemed to have a burn scar in the right side of his face. It might have been a potential weak point, but its kind of hard to pay attention to it during the fighting, so all it really did was make him look more grizzled and terrifying. He walked on his knuckles like a gorilla, making his way to the center of the arena, where he stood up and bellowed, beating his chest again.

My moment of fear passed. “Fluffy! Say hello!” As he took a deep breath, I climbed into Lindsay’s saddle. When I got myself seated, Fluffy’s battle roar drowned out our foe’s bellowing. Jimmy, Miranda, and Lindsay joined him. I shivered in excitement as my whole crew roared defiantly. Even little Penelope unleashed an angry bark from inside my hood.

As big and scary as he was, I grinned when I saw the sound brought a look of fear to the ape’s face, but it didn't last long. After that, I started shouting orders. Meathead was my biggest and strongest. He charged first. Miranda, Fluffy, and Lindsay were hot on his heals. Team “less big” held back, waiting for openings to strike, but also watching for… minions of any kind.

Jimmy's initial charge was foiled when the Ape whacked him in the head with a fist thicker than most tree trunks. It then threw one of his beefy arms over Jimmy and wrapped his head in a crushing chokehold. His strength was staggering, and he was quicker then I expected too. He easily wrenched Jimmy off his feet and threw him to the ground. Miranda reached him next. While he was distracted with Jimmy, she caught one of his arms in her jaws and clamped down. _Good girl Miranda._ I barked orders too. Team “Less Big” (sigh, and Raven) I ordered to circle around to attack from the sides, then I got Lindsay moving.

We reached the massive primate as he whacked Miranda on the head with his other fist. She reeled backwards in pain, but she didn't lose her feet. I ordered Lindsay and Fluffy forward, Lindsay slashed at his arm with her claws, while Fluffy chomped at the apes belly. I saw blood, and I saw him stumble in surprise. We had an opening. “Lindsay! CHARGE!” She dropped to all fours and leapt forward with all her strength, slamming into his hip and knocking the big brute on his butt. I whistled loudly, and everyone attacked. For an intense thirty seconds, we held the ape down and did all the damage we could… and I thought we had him.

What happened next, almost seemed to happen in slow motion. Cousin It and Chewie were slashing for all they were worth at the Guardian’s leg, then one of those thick grubby fists came out of nowhere, grabbed Cousin It, and used him as a club to swat Chewie hard enough to send him rolling away… Then it squeezed… and Cousin It broke. I couldn’t even hear a sound. I just saw blood. “No” was all I had time to say to myself before I had to let it go. Chucking my dead friend aside, the Ape then punched Miranda right in the nose, sending her staggering away again. Next, using both arms, he shoved Lindsay… or more accurately… he launched her, and by extension, me, into the air. I lost all sense of direction as we freaking flew and partially spun. The straps of the saddle held as we hit the ground and luckily she landed on her side, but I swear, she came so close to rolling onto my leg. Holy shit that monkey was powerful.

Lindsay was in a daze, and I couldn’t see what was happening from where I was, so I unstrapped myself and dashed around her. Fluffy was clashing with the Ape who now turned his attention to him. “FLUFFY! GET AWAY!” He tried. He came so close, but the Ape caught him with his grubby hands and yanked him back. I had to save Fluffy. I searched for a solution as quick as I could. _“Okay, The wolves dashed away, Jimmy isn’t quite back on his feet, Miranda is still staggering, Lindsay is still down, Bob seems to be fighting… a Bigfoot? The ape has minions? FOCUS! The Carnos are with Bob, Trikes are… YES!”_ I whistled, “TRIKES! ATTACK THE SIDE!” They charged in as the Ape wrapped Fluffy in his crushing grip and used his meaty fingers to try and pry his jaws open. “ _Hurry guys.”_ Shea hit him first, spearing the Ape’s thigh with both horns, causing him to grunt and anger, Fluffy slipped from his arms and tried to scramble away… I tried to whistle a retreat to the Trikes, but I was too late.

Samson always was brave, bullheaded, and stubborn. He went charging, right passed Fluffy, at the Ape’s front to gore him in the belly. In the flurry of motion as Fluffy dashed away, I didn’t see what was going on. But then Fluffy moved, and I had a clear view. Samson was successful in driving his horns into the Ape’s gut, but he hadn’t gotten away. The Ape caught him with both hands.

_Samson. My first Triceratops. I remember when I brought you home. Aside from Dodo birds, the Dilo’s, and the Parasaurs, you’ve been with me longer than anyone. You always acted like such a tough guy, but you still swooned when you got your chin scratched. Samson the stoic. Samson the Brave. That’s how I’ll always remember you._

Those images flashed through my mind as the Ape lifted Samson over his head. With unfeeling fury, he hurled the mighty Trike. I watched helplessly as Samson flew from one side of the arena to the other, and smashed into the rock wall, before falling lifelessly into a heap. Tears reached my eyes. I let them fall, then got back to work. Lindsay and Miranda were stunned, Fluffy was reeling, but now, Jimmy was back, and he wasn’t happy about watching one of his playmates die.

He charged into battle, and out performed everyone. He barreled into the Ape head first, staggering him, then before he could recover, he caught one of those thick wrists in his mouth, clamped down, and twisted. With the Ape off balance, the twisting of his elbow caused him to fall and smack his face on the stone floor before he regained his feet. He snarled furiously and wrenched his arm out of Jimmy’s jaws, and retaliated with an honest to Gods haymaker, which Jimmy ducked below. I swelled with pride. My training helped him after all. The Ape’s failed punch, just put him on Jimmy’s other side, so Jimmy chomped down on that elbow instead.

By then I’d sprinted under the hooting asshole, shotgun at the ready. I couldn’t reach his head from there, so I fired both barrels right into his belly. The arm he had been using to try and struggle with Jimmy rushed to his wound. “JIMMY! FORWARD.” Jimmy lurched forward, and again, smashed the Ape to the ground. I whistled to the others as I backed off, but not before chopping at its fingers. “For Samson, and Cousin It.” I whispered as swung again. Finally I bolted away passing by the charging wolves as well as Shea.

I yelled and whistled commands. Shea drove her horns deep into the muscle of the Apes back leg, drawing a pained roar from the beast. The wolves were there seconds later. They ripped and tore at the wounded hand, keeping its attention while Shea pulled her horns out. “Wolves, Shea, Get away! I called.” Shea, Aedan, and Anna got away. Zach wasn't so lucky. The Ape flattened him with one of his feet as he wrenched himself back up. I’m not sure it was even intentional. Despite all its bleeding wounds, it was back up and still angry. It turned its attention towards the angry Meathead, still latched to his arm.

I pulled out my rifle, and started shooting and reloading while Jimmy struggled with the beast. I hit the bastard twice, and each one only seemed to make him madder, but I didn’t care. He hurt my friends. My third shot hit him in the cheek. This was last straw for him. He wrenched his arm bloodily from Jimmy’s mouth, and then swung his fist upward, catching him right under the chin in a powerful uppercut that made a wincing CLACK as bone hit bone. Jimmy went stumbling after that one, and the Ape (of course) came charging at me. I dropped my gun and got my spear out. I retreated towards Lindsay, who was getting back to her feet. The Ape would catch up, but that was fine. As the monster gorilla barreled down on me, I watched its shadow. The second I saw its hand reaching for me, I leapt to the side, its fingers missing me by inches. I landed in a roll, regaining my feet, before I turned and jammed my spear right through the asshole’s forearm. I left it there, and ran for my life to gain some distance, while the Ape howled. Lindsay was back on her feet by then. She threw her shoulder into the wailing ape and started ripping and tearing at him. I ran for my gun. I also saw the Carno’s close by. I also noticed that Lindsay and the Ape were getting perilously close to the stairway…

As I finally reached the rifle and scrambled to load a bullet into it, I whistled to the trio. “Carnos! Form up! CHARGE! THERE!” I yelled, pointing. They tossed aside the Gigantopithecus they were struggling with, formed up and charged. I was biting my lips as I watched them get closer and closer to the rampaging gorilla… I thought we’d knock him down the stairs and hope he broke his neck… but the bastard saw them coming. He shoved Lindsay away and leapt backwards to avoid their charge. With a single swing of his arm, he sent all three Carno’s tumbling down the stairs and out of sight. My heart sank even lower. I whistled to everyone to form up, hoping we could regroup while I sprinted towards the stairs… I shotgunned an angry Bigfoot in the face as I went. I had to know… I ran right passed the Ape who had resumed his struggle with Lindsay. I made it to the edge.

Jimbo was there, he hadn’t fallen far, and was back on his feet, Dara-Lynn had stopped rolling but was hurt and still on the ground. Billy-Joe… I only caught a glimpse of him… as he tumbled off the mountain and out of sight. He was gone.

I still couldn’t grieve though. I heard a sound that filled me with angry adrenaline; Lindsay's roar of pain. I turned. The ape had wrestled her back to the ground, and had her head wrapped in his arm. He was squeezing, and then he was forcing her jaws open with both hands. I sprinted as fast as I could, frantically whistling for… anyone to help, but nobody was close enough. I watched her jaws get forced open wider… and wider. I cried out in defiance, unable to stop my closest friend’s death… but Raven, devilish guardian angel that she is, stopped it for me.

She came zooming out of nowhere with a shriek of battle fury, parkoured her way up the beast’s thigh with almost unnatural ease, and soon she’d latched onto the Ape’s back and… I’m honestly not sure what she did… but whatever it was, it was extremely effective. The Ape dropped Lindsay to the ground and just… went ballistic. He roared with primal fury, flailed his arms, and spun, desperately trying to dislodge the (relatively) little Raptor off. I kept sprinting. Now my other close friend was in danger, but Raven jumped off on her own. What followed would have been hilarious if the situation hadn't been so fatal. Still in a rage, the great Ape began wildly swinging his fists trying to crush her, but just like fucking everything else that tries to step up to Raven, he just couldn’t keep up.

He punched, he grabbed, he swung about, but nothing he did helped him catch her, she always sprinted right out of range. I whistled. “RAVEN! THIS WAY!” She obeyed my orders (for the first time that day). I skidded to a halt not ten meters away from the monstrous monkey. Raven came towards me, which caused him to move his head to keep his eyes on her… giving me the perfect shot. Before I could fire though, he slammed one of his fists down, and Raven crashed right into it. He came very close to grabbing her up with his hand, but I wasn’t going to let any more friends die. I snatched up my shotgun, and emptied it into his wrist. Raven was able to recover and dodge his weakened fingers. I slung my rifle into position, took careful aim… and shot the son of a bitch right in the throat. That shot stopped him. He started coughing, his roars and grunts became pained and wet sounding. He put one hand to his throat to examine the wound, but with the other, he reached for me. Raven by now had regained her feet. I flung myself over her back, and she carried us to safety.

“EVERYONE ATTACK!” I yelled as I clung Raven’s hips for dear life. Miranda and Bob made it first. Miranda dodged the Ape’s spastic flailing arms and caught one of his wrists, while Bob bounded up and drove his claws deep into his hip. Lindsay charged in behind it, and threw herself at its back. The thing went sprawling forward and fell on his stomach. Lindsay threw herself on top of him, holding him down. Fluffy and the Wolves, helped Miranda hold his one arm still.

Even as he choked and sputtered and bled, the Ape didn’t give up. He tried to swing his free arm at them, but he couldn’t reach anything. Then Jimmy stomped up. “GET HIM JIMMY!” Jimmy obliged

The Ape swung his fist, desperately trying to keep my big bad Rex at bay, but Meathead evaded the blows, pinned the arm down with his massive foot, then lurched forward and closed his jaws around the great Ape’s throat. It took another minute or two for the Ape to stop thrashing, but that was it. We'd won. Just to drive that point home, Jimmy tore thing’s head right off its shoulders. We did it. We conquered another obelisk.

I hugged Raven, and I cried, as the carnage, exhaustion, and grief all caught up with me. Four casualties. One of them was Samson. I ran to him. I could barely see what was left of him through the tears, but I knew it wasn’t pretty. One of his horns had broken off. I took that with me.

_“Samson. You survived Ghost, you survived the Spider, and you survived so many excursions. Could I have saved you? What if I’d given a different command? What if I’d left you behind?”_ I could feel myself spiraling back into misery, but Raven and Lindsay saved me. Lindsay nudged me in the back with her snout, so I got up and hugged her, and Raven trotted up and wrapped her self around me as well. “I love you guys.” I whispered.

I gave Raven another big hug. I'd be dead without her. Lindsay would be dead without her. Before I could say anymore goodbyes the light engulfed us, and soon we were back on the mountaintop below the Blue Obelisk. I slid to my knees, and said a little goodbye prayer, of sorts. Not that I’m looking to Gods for help at this point… “Goodbye Zach. Goodbye Billy-Joe. Goodbye Cousin It. Goodbye… Samson. I love you and I won't forget you.”

Finally I took a look at those who fought with me and lived. Jimmy, Miranda, Lindsay, and Fluffy were all missing teeth, and I think Lindsay's leg got wrenched at a bad angle. She was limping pretty bad. Shea was fine, but I knew she was sad. Samson was her companion. The Carnos, Jimbo and Dara-Lyn, looked… numb, as did Chewie and Bob. The other Wolves weren’t physically hurt, but they yanked at my heartstrings when they both let out long mournful howls. Raven ran over and nuzzled them. That broke me. I cried some more. Penelope wrapped herself around my neck, and licked my cheek. The little furball gave me some comfort.

The artifact appeared before me, and I packed it away in Jimmy’s saddlebag, so I wouldn’t have to look at the Ape’s face. Another “robot reward chest” appeared as well. Inside I found more of that strange blue pulsing… stuff, as well as several things that will help me continue my journey, including a gas mask, and a sleek machete with a serrated edge, way more finely crafted than my own, and with a handle made of what looked like keratin, possibly from one of those Wooly Rhinos? I was too numb to appreciate them at the time, but there was one other thing… It was a small bag of green leaves. They looked and smelled a bit like… cannabis. I don’t encourage drug use for anyone… but holy shit was I in need of a nice long drag. It will be nice to really… relax. Then there was another confusing message, once again typed on parchment paper.

It read:

_This must seem suspicious. My existence, I mean. I have you at a disadvantage, I admit. I'm operating from a position of near perfect information, while you are...not. To put it mildly. Not that you're unintelligent! Clearly you're very clever, to find so many different uses for thatch.  
  
I digress again. The point is: you have no reason to trust me. Most everything you've met has tried to kill you, so from your perspective, it follows that I would do the same. You humans do love your patterns.  
I can't force you to believe me. In fact, I can't compel anyone to do anything. Even when it comes to digital systems, my control is limited. I merely pass on suggestions, not commandments.  
  
So all I can do is ask you to believe in me, as I have believed in all of you._

So whatever this… being… is, it isn’t human… That’s not comforting. It talks about digital systems. More proof this is all artificial. And why do I feel like it was being snarky about my thatch hut? Leave my fishing hut alone…

I built us a fire, and we took a day to rest before we started the journey home. It took us three long melancholy days. When we got there… I just felt sad. The homestead always feels smaller when my friends die. I added the names of the fallen to my gravestone. Thank you for fighting with me, I'll never forget you.

Now that I’m home, and I’ve paid tribute to my friends… I’m gonna see what these leaves do…

-

Awww yeah…


	19. Entry 51: Stomping Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne deals with her pain, and finds new strength.

God damn it…. It’s the next morning. I was really looking forward to smoking more of that stuff I found… I was having a good time. Sadly, I just found a new engram informing me that the stuff is medicinal and works really well on dinosaur wounds. I can’t waste any more of it. 

It sucks. Last night I spent an hour staring at Lindsay’s thigh. I found a pattern in her scales that looked like a pretty girl… or maybe a hot guy. “Wait… They’re nonbinary! Super hot.” That was my brain for a freaking hour. Not even the stuff my old music buddies gave me made staring at patterns so much fun. Then I was sprinting around with the Raptors… which was probably dangerous at night… but I was having fun. I tried looking for the pattern again... But all I see now is... I don't know, maybe a children's drawing of a car?

But no, I’m not wasting a resource. Drugs aren’t a great way to cope anyway… Says the lady who brewed her own wine… 

I need a new coping strategy. Maybe it’s time to figure out what to do with… The things I have to remember my friends.

-

Hello again. I’m feeling very… mournful… but also proud, and happy now. I made something special… Special to me at least. It may not sound like much, but I made a special lockbox, or maybe more of a chest. I’ll keep my journal in it. It’s decorated with mementos of those I lost. I started with Samson’s horn. I split it in two, and filed it down so that the two halves would sit flat on the front of it, starting in the corners and meeting at the top. Below the horns, I carved my name. Below that, I attached a little piece of an Iguanodon thumb spike. I’d rescued it from the ashes of the burial pyre we’d burned after our big battle with Ghost. It was Iggy’s. It’s pointed up towards my name.

To decorate the sides, I gathered up all the feathers I’d collected from fallen friends. I still have one from Toy Chica, and a few from Bonnie, who were killed by Raptors during my first weeks in this place. Theirs are pretty worn down from sitting in a bag for so long, but I arranged them in a little Dodo shaped silhouette on one side of the chest. On the other, I used Raptor feathers. The only one’s I had were Pigeon’s, who also died to Ghost. I really hate that I hadn’t gotten and of Seagull’s or Parakeets, but I’d lost them under water in that cave. I hadn’t been able to retrieve any. I needed one more feather to make a complete Raptor shape, so I used the one I plucked out of Raven not to long ago. To seal them on there, I had to get creative. I boiled some “frog spit” and kept adding water to see what would happen. As I hoped, I eventually reduced it to a clear gluey substance. I arranged the feathers into the pattern I wanted, then painted the glue overtop of them to seal them on.

The top I’m really proud of. I’ve got Sue’s mighty tooth embedded in its center. There’s a circle pattern there, which serves as the lock. It took days of tinkering with my tools and machinery, but I finally got it to work. It’s got nice metal hinges and a slightly complex lock. I had to drill a hole in Sue’s tooth to make it happen. Basically, you slip Sue’s tooth into the divot on the top, and press down so the little nob goes in the hole. Then, you press down, and turn the tooth clockwise, which opens the lid and lets you open it up. Sue’s tooth is the key. I can also click it into place and just leave it there. But if ever I want to lock it, I can just remove Sue’s tooth, then there’s no way to open the lid… I guess you could just break it… 

Along the edges and sides, I carved and painted little pictures. I decorated just about every face of the chest. My friends protected me, fought with me, kept me from being too horribly lonely. Now I’ll always have them close to my heart, protecting my journal, which is… kind of all I have. I miss all of you. I’m sorry you all became friends with me. If you hadn’t maybe you’d still be alive. But all of you, from the “borking” Dodos, to the badass giant sloths, to the stubborn Trike, howling wolf, raging Carno, bold and mighty Rex, and of course the many unique Raptors, you all made me happy. You all kept me going… I’m having a lot of emotions right now… I’m gonna go hug my unicorn… And then everyone else…

-

Well that just happened. Once again, I’m feeling a lot of emotions, but these are different from last time. I almost died today… but what the hell else is new. It was all an accident really. I did everything I could to avoid killing it… But it was stubborn. I feel bad for killing it… But I’m also kind of in awe of myself. 

Remember how I said there was a Rex hanging around to the west of us? He’d kept his distance for the most part. But I guess he’d gotten bolder than I realized. I was up on the plateau above my peninsula, getting chased by a big, goofy, Snugglebug. He loves it up there. I can sometimes hear him from my house when he’s galloping around. Then when Jimmy or Lindsay goes up, a big old wrestling match would start. He always comes back down to give everyone snuggles… but anyway. I was sprinting for all I was worth and he came happily bounding after me. Finally he cornered me on the western cliff side. There he pinned me down with his head and damn near crushed me to death… but who am I kidding, I was laughing the whole time. 

He finally let me up with a happy “Bruuuuuu” and I scratched his jaw for him. But then a sound startled both of us. Definitely a large splash, followed by heavy footsteps not far from us. I turned around and gazed down the sloping cliff. That Rex had crossed the river, and was now on our island. He was eyeing Snugglebug greedily. I could see him drooling from hundreds of yards away. I put a comforting hand on Snugglebug and was getting ready to tell him to go back home… when the section of ground I was standing on crumbled. Snugglebug reared away, but I wasn’t so lucky. Next thing I knew I was sliding down the rocky slope. 

I managed avoid major damage on the way down, aside from some bad scrapes on my ass, and a big ass bruise on the hip I landed on at the bottom. I was more concerned about the beast I was sharing the beach with however. I risked a glance back up, to make sure Snugglebug was okay. He “bruuued” at me before galloping off, most likely to get help. I also heard Lindsay roaring in the distance. She’d smelled the threat. If I could hold out till they arrived, we could chase this thing away. 

I turned to face my foe. He was tense. He’d heard the roars of a rival predator in the distance. He knew he was intruding. The Diploducus he had his eye on had fled, but what was this monkey thing? A potential snack?

It’s chilling when a Rex turns its eyes towards you. A long strand of drool yoyo’d from his teeth. This boy was hungry. “Come on big fella. Don’t make me kill you.”

Looking back, it’s remarkable how calm I was. I wasn’t scared in the slightest. Hell, I didn’t even feel like I’d lost control of the situation. Even when the big guy took a step forward, sniffing the air between us, I kept my cool. I grabbed up my shotgun. Time to make a statement.

I fired my gun into the air and did my best to strike a menacing pose. “LEAVE!” I shouted. The blast of my gun startled the thing, but didn’t stop it. “Damn it. I don’t want to fight you.” Stupid guy must have been starving. Despite my threats, he took a step forward, then built his momentum into a lumbering sprint. “Have it your way.” I sprinted through the crags until I got myself around a sizable boulder, reloading my gun as I went. 

When the big predator poked his head around the rock, searching for his prey, I blasted him in the face with both barrels. The buckshot messed him up. I must have got him in the eye, at least partly, because he roared in agony. I sprinted around the rock till I made it behind his leg. 

Playing with Jimmy and Miranda taught me that Rexes have a bit of a blind spot, right behind their hips. They can’t quite turn their heads well enough to see. They aren’t stupid though. If they suspect something is there they’ll kick at the spot. This bugger was no exception, but again, playing with Jimmy and Miranda had taught me this trick. I leapt aside as his foot kicked back at me. He was swinging himself around to get at me now, but I’d bought all the time I needed. I unloaded my shotgun into his knee.

I still had to dive away as he lunged for me, his jaws closing around the air where I'd been seconds before. I heard the clacking of his teeth coming together. 

I've said in the past that Rexes don't turn very well. With his knee hobbled, that was doubly true. I was able to stay out of his lethal range be keeping my feet moving, and staying to the side of him as he kept stomping and trying to turn himself. Before he figured out what I was doing, I had my shotgun reloaded. I shot him in the same knee. This time he stopped and bellowed in pain. I backed away some distance, ready to sprint behind rocks if I needed to. But first, I stood there in the open, casually reloading my gun for yet another shot. When the Rex finally looked back up at me, he had trepidation in his eyes.

I stood tall, staring straight into his eyes. “LEAVE!” I roared, firing one barrel into the air just to drive the point home. The enemy Rex took a step back. For a moment I thought I’d made my point. But this poor sap must have been really hungry, or had a really big ego… After a moment of hesitation, he snarled and barreled forward, intent on making a meal of me. I jogged around the boulder again. This time, I hid myself in a crag. The Rex was so intent on catching me, he stomped right by. As soon as I saw that foot, I slipped out, ducked beneath a tail that could easily shatter all the bones in my body, leapt around deadly taloned claws between heavily muscled legs, and landed on my knees. I grabbed up my shotgun, and put my last round into the same knee. The sound of the blast startled the Rex and he whipped towards me, but that was a mistake. I’d completely fucked up his leg. As he pivoted, I winced, as I watched his open wound tearing itself apart. I heard the snapping of tendons and sinew, and for a moment, only the Rex's powerful leg bones held up its tremendous weight… but they weren’t strong enough.

I had to look away and cringe as the bone snapped, and the big Rex crashed to the ground. He let out a pained groan as he fell, but it was silenced as he crashed into rocky terrain, forcing the air from his lungs. There was more awful “crunching” and I knew hitting the rock had shattered his ribs. He slid to the ground, and his roars became wet, gurgling, wheezes. The fight had left him now. 

I sat there, catching my breath for a few minutes before looking back. I circled around him, climbing the rocks to see how bad the damage was. He was definitely dying. There was no way to fix his shattered leg. He lay there, in agony, I could tell, struggling to breath. Each time he exhaled, it was tinged red. I wasn’t cruel enough to let him suffer, so I put away my shotgun, and used my rifle to put a shot right into his brain. He shuddered weakly, and fell still.

“I’m sorry. I tried to get you to leave. I guess I wasn’t scary enough to you.” It’s weird, feeling bad for something that was so intent on eating you. He hadn’t been malicious. He was just hungry. And I was just a human. He was 18 feet of pure primal power. Can’t expect him to get the message that… I’m just as dangerous as he is… “Holy shit. I’m more dangerous than a goddamn Rex.” I was kind of floored by the realization. I still am. I can still hardly believe that I, the same woman that’s gotten her ass kicked so many times on this Island, just took on a fully-grown Rex on her own. About two minutes later, Raven came sprinting around the corner. I was sitting on top of the dead Rex’s head, just… contemplating. She jogged up… staring oddly at me, sniffing at the dead apex predator I was sitting on. Another few minutes, and Lindsay came tearing around the corner. 

She seemed pretty confused at first, but then it was like she became a doting mother. She trotted right up to me and stuck her nose right in my chest, sniffing worriedly at me. I smiled, wiping the sweat and Rex blood from my eyes. I patted her on the nose, and whispered softly to reassure her, before rising and hopping down to give Raven a hug. Maybe I’m just feeling kind of “high and mighty” right now (holy shit I killed a Rex without dinosaur backup), but I swear my two friends looked at me… almost with reverence. I’ll have to make sure they don’t worship me too hard. I can’t get soft after all. 

Shit… What’s next? I’m the most dangerous thing on this Island, with the exception of the Alphas, and Big Mac. But I still have a Trophy to obtain… I suppose I’ll have to get back to work soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone remember the first time they killed a Rex solo?


	20. Entry 52: Cave of Creepy Crawlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne uses her new gas mask to try and obtain the Artifact of the Immune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUGS!

Gross… I am never going to feel clean again. I wonder if there’s a safe way to wash with fire… Ugh. I still feel their phantom wings beating around me…

So I have another artifact. I figured we’d knock this one out quick since it's not too terribly far from home. It’s the one I found in the Redwood forest that was full of toxic gas. You’ll be delighted to know the gas mask I got after beating that simian shitbag, was plenty effective in there. No burning sensations in my lungs or my eyes now. I still don’t get how it only effects me and not the dinosaurs, but I’m not complaining. I have no clue how to forge Raptor gas masks.

We hiked our way over there, with Fluffy as our escort. I figured out a new way to use his “super roar.” It’s perfect for temporarily making a safe path through the swamps. He’s just big enough that the Sarco-crocs don’t want to tangle with him anyway, and they’re the biggest things lurking those waters, so when the Titanoboas, and Kapro-crocs, and all the other swamp monsters hear him, they head for the hills. We were able to pass through the swamps mostly unscathed. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on the Megapiranha’s. Seriously… those fish have balls of steel… or perhaps brains of stupid… Bluejay got nipped on the leg, but he wasn’t even limping. I was able to bandage him up when we made it onto dry land… Then, I had to pull a big, disgusting leach off of Crow’s thigh. Thing was the size of my forearm… Bleurgh. I had to get my torch lit and burn the little bastard to make him let go. Finally, after a brief rest, I donned my gas mask, and brought Raven and Hawk in with me and headed inside. I meant to just poke around, get a feel for what we’d be up against… I got exactly what I wanted I suppose.

We passed into the first chamber, and I noted how… slimy… everything looked. There were these huge-ass snails slithering along the walls. Those guys are harmless… and kind of pretty. They barely reacted when I wandered up and lightly poked one with a gloved hand. They just kept slithering along the floor and the walls. “Maybe this one won’t be so bad?” I thought to myself… Why I insist on tempting fate by thinking these things, I will never know…

Once I was done poking snails, I looked down the next narrow tunnel, and… I couldn’t make sense of what I saw. The tunnel itself seemed to be… pulsating. I thought maybe the lenses of my gas mask were funky or fogged… but after wiping them… it just kept… moving. I thrust my torch down the rocky corridor, and saw light dancing off of dozens of rainbow-y membranes. For a second it was pretty, but then I realized what I was looking at…

Ugh. Give me a second. I've been swatting at giant phantom bugs since we got out of there. Its very unpleasant…Anyway, I realized that the reason that tunnel's walls seemed to move, was because it was covered, top to bottom, in dozens, maybe hundreds of Meganeura. They’re dragonflies with heads the size of golf balls, and a wingspan of roughly one foot. The flames of my torch startled one, who started flapping those wings. Soon the noise grew to a roar, as every single one of them sprang to life and came swarming out of the tunnel at us. It was a fucking nightmare.

The shotgun was highly effective at bringing down whole clouds of them, but once they start swarming around you, firing wildly wont do you any good. You risk hurting the friends you brought with you… That’s totally the reason I ordered a tactical retreat. I totally didn’t run out of there with my arms flailing, screaming into my gas mask and spazzing out uncontrollably… maybe a little.

Outside, in the swamps, those things are nothing but a nuisance, but inside that cave in such large numbers? They could shred a person easily. It's easy to forget they do actually bite. Also, since they’re relatively small, and stupid fast, the Raptors have trouble swatting them down.

A small swarm emerged with us as we ran out of the cavern, but the open air made them a bit more manageable… All the same, there were a few persistent little bastards buzzing around Fluffy’s head that we couldn’t reach. They didn’t go away until an incredibly brave wild frog hopped up and plucked them right out of the air with incredible precision... which gave me an idea…

Three days later, I returned to the swamp cave with some secret weapons. What's 4 feet tall, weighs about 200 pounds, and loves to eat giant dragon flies? Giant frogs, that's what. I tamed a second one just to help us out. Her name is Mary-Shelly. She and Lovecraft joined the Raptors and I for this excursion. In those cramped confines, those frogs were powerhouses. We made our way to that first tunnel, and just like before, it was pulsing with insect life. I stood at the front, with the frogs on either side of me. I fired my gun into the tunnel, shredding tons of chitinous bodies. That woke up the swarm. The frogs then went to work. Their tongues are sticky enough that they only need to lightly brush the big dragonflies to catch them. With swarms of the little fucks, they swung their tongues around like sticky ropes, catching dozens with a single “sluuuurp.” I was able to gun down another large batch, so when the swarms finally reached us, we’d thinned their numbers out enough that the Raptors and I could finish them off.

That’s how we made it through the swamp cave’s first obstacle. The next chamber brought more familiar horrors; giant spiders, millipedes, and scorpions. Lots of them. That was where me and the Raptors took over to let the frogs rest and digest. I think my survivor sense was off a bit with the gas mask on. It was narrowing my vision too much. Sadly there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it. The fight was a doozy.

All of us kicked all kinds of ass, but without my full range of vision, I took a few big hits. First, I got tripped up when one of those giant spiders webbed up my legs. Next a giant scorpion scuttled over me and tried to pin me down, just like Slayer does with the Dilos. The damn thing started trying to freaking strangle me with its pincers. I managed to grab the thing’s “wrist” areas, and I was just strong enough to hold its clacking pincers back. I was literally lying there having some kind of strength contest with a giant scorpion... and I was winning. This one was smaller than Slayer. Even with its buggy strength, it wasn’t quite stronger than me… but then a massive gob of acid rained down on me… The cave had millipedes too. The gob hit my shoulder and splashed all over my torso. I could hear it start to sizzle. But what could I do? I redoubled my efforts to wrestle the scorpion off of me, but it took some time. In the end, I sped things up by head-butting the ugly fuck right in the mandibles. That made it recoil, and I was able to wrestle it off of me, roll over, then stomp on it till it stopped twitching.

By the time I killed the thing, the acid I was covered in had fizzled itself out… and completely ruined the metal armor I worked so hard on. There was a massive hole on my right shoulder, leaving the flesh of my arm and torso exposed, and the rest of it looked like Swiss cheese. I had no choice but to keep fighting. I whipped around, looking for the bastard that spat at me in the first place. I was too late to stop its second assault. I ducked as the gob came flying at me, but about a third of it still hit my exposed shoulder. Fortunately, the acid is less effective on flesh… for some reason… I couldn’t tell you why. It eats through any armor I wear, but on flesh, it just stings a lot… I don’t get it. I ignored the tingling and burning, as it seeped behind my armor. I just charged ahead and used all of my body weight to pin the scuttling fuck down so I could drive my spear through its head.

Five more harrowing minutes passed before the Raptors and I killed the rest of the assaulting creepy crawlers. The frogs, who were moving again, then hopped in and saved us from a wriggling mass of leeches that writhed their way out of small stagnant pools and slithered their way towards us.

Gross, gross, gross. Fuck that fucking cave. The rest of it was more of that. Every narrow tunnel was packed with dragonflies. Every open chamber was filled with angry arthropods. The tunnels get narrow in places too. I even spotted a few spots the Raptors wouldn’t be able to squeeze under, but if you persevere, you can make it through without having to crawl. Like hell was I gonna crawl in a cave full of bugs.

The frogs definitely win the MVP award for this cave. They must have devoured hundreds of buzzing bastards. They didn't last the whole way sadly. No worries readers, they're alive and well. Not far from the end, they both just kind of... plopped down, too full to continue, or even move. "Great work you two," I thought. "The Raptors and I will finish up." And we did. Wasn't easy. But we got the artifact, I waited about a day for the frogs to stop feeling sick, then we headed home. I've been pulling severed insect limbs out of my hair ever since. I'm making light of it, but make no mistake, that cave is dangerous, just like all the others. If you aren't careful, you could very easily lose your life in there. It's not just the insect swarms either. Everything in there wants you unconscious. Just about everything has a tranquilizing bite. Bring stimulants if you have them. Otherwise, use thick metal armor… but watch out for the millipedes. I used both tactics. I drank all of the stimulants I had, because a scorpion nailed me right in my exposed shoulder at one point. It was all I could do to stay awake. The metal armor I was still just effective enough to absorb any other venomous bites that came my way, but when we were done with that cave, it was clear I was going to have to smith some more.

When we left, I also noticed I was sweating salt. The stimulants, the rancid humid environment of the cave, and all of the fighting I did in there, completely dehydrated me during the few hours I was in there. I had to have Raven carry me to the nearest river. Took me awhile to recover from that one. That’s another thing to watch out for.

You get the idea. Be careful in the swamp cave. Holy shit though guys. I have another artifact. This one is “The Artifact of the Immune.” Its inscription read _With a mastery of one's equilibrium, no simple poison nor toxin can be a threat._

I wish I was immune to poisons, or acid. At the moment I’d rather be immune to acid.. You have any idea how much getting a nipple covered in acid fucking stings? I haven’t been able to wear a shirt since I got out of there. Everything I have just chafes… a lot. Everything is… so sensitive. I’d put some healing salve on it but… that stuff is cold… Hanging around with my tits out has actually been kinda nice. Sort of… liberating.

I suppose the big question is “what next?” I checked the red Obelisk. There’s definitely four slots in this one. I’m halfway there. I could return to the snowy north and tackle the cave there, or I could start searching the bottom of the ocean again in hopes of finding the other sea cave. Neither sounds like fun… Why me? Excuse me while I find a way to cleanse myself of the creepy crawler cave’s filth… Maybe I can try bathing in the volcano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude, one of those dragonflies got near me... I would be sprinting for another continent.


	21. Entry 53: Wet Bone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne ponders her next move, while Kraken finds a new toy.

It’s been a week since I last wrote. I’m writing now for two reasons. Firstly, I know what my next move is, and second… I had a really nice week. Remember that Rex I killed? I got Snugglebug and Lindsay to help me drag it back towards home (this was before we tackled the crawly cave), so I could cut as much meat off of it as I could. Rex is pretty tasty. I didn’t want to rub it in Jimmy and Miranda’s face that I was eating one though, so I kept it just around a corner, out of sight of most of my peninsula. I’ve got plenty of meat cut off and in the smokers, and we still have some fresh cuts left too. The rest of the carcass, I got Lindsay to push into the water for all my sea friends.

After we got back from that cave, I decided to throw a nice feast. I fed prime cuts of Rex to any friends that wanted them. I myself, ate one of its arms… It’s like a big chicken wing… I know those Rex arms look puny, but there’s some really tasty meat in them… It’s super tough though. The only way to make it edible is to slow boil it for hours. But if you do that, and stew it with some vegetables and amarberries? Delicious. I was just experimenting too. I was never much of a cook, so I’m pretty proud.

After that, I had a bit of wine, played with Slayer and the little guys, and then played some music for myself. Once again, the Parasaurs sang with me. Unfortunately they didn’t really have the timing of “Enter Sandman” down, so it sounded like a mess… but hey, I had fun… 

The next day, I used the rest of my prime Rex meat to recruit more Compy cuties (eeee!). The original seven, Carbon, Silicon, Gold, Chlorine, Phosphorus, Hydrogen, and Neon, have been joined by Radon, Helium, Sodium, Silicon, and Silver. Silver might be the prettiest little guy ever. Super affectionate too. He’s like a little chicken-puppy. He’s light gray with bright blue little feathers on his head. He’s started palling around with Penelope and Diddy, so now he’s a member of my newly formed “Cutie Trio.”

But anyway, now lets talk about how I decided what I’m doing next. It began this morning. I went out to feed the sea beasts, and I noticed something… odd about Kraken. That squid continues to scare and baffle me with her ingenuity and… strange choices. I’ve mentioned before that she collects things she likes, and sticks them in her little tool belt. Well, this morning, while I was standing on the docks, watching Sharknado and Mega Shark chase each other over a meat chunk, my loveable lovecraftian leviathan bubbled to the surface… and it looked like she had a mother-fucking sword sheathed in her belt. I’m serious, it looked like she had a damn rapier. I had to jump the water and swim up to her to figure out what the hell the object was.

It was that dead Rex’s splintered leg bone… I have no freaking idea why she collects these things, or what she plans to do with them, but I absolutely refuse to take them away from her because she looks like a fucking badass. A giant squid with a sword… “That settles it” I thought. “I know what my next project will be. My merry band of sea friends and I are gonna find the last sea cave. 

-

Oh, the sights I've seen. There's species of fish here, I think it's called Leedsichthus. It's absolutely gargantuan. Like… maybe as big as whale. They're a sight to behold. They sort of drift around, looking for whatever it is they eat. At that size, it could be just about anything. I know its dangerous, but I swam right alongside one of these fish and it never got aggressive with me. They're too dumb to tame though, so don't bother. I tried getting its attention, but it just kept swimming, slowly opening and closing its mouth, like all fish do. 

I’ve got good news too. It was just after spotting one of these leviathans that I found the final underwater cave. I haven't gone in yet, but I know where it is. I was just following it on Kas, and it took us a little deeper. It was pretty deep around there, but with the sun shining overhead, I still spotted the entrance in the murky gloom. It’s pretty distinct looking… It’s huge. It’s big enough that I can bring Kraken in with me. With Kraken, three angry sharks, and one angry whale, I like my chances. 

I’m not letting myself get overconfident though. The two caves I’ve been through to obtain artifacts for the Red Obelisk have been… challenging. Sure I managed to climb through the ice cave myself, and we tackled the swamp cave with no casualties… but I’m not sure I really expressed how much both of them… exhausted me. The last sea cave had been narrower than this. If it was big enough for Kraken to enter, I think it’s a fair bet that there will be plenty of other things her size in there. 

I'll be readying an expedition soon. I’ll have to make some preparations first. I’ll need some more glass jars, maybe some improved scuba gear, and weapons… I don’t want to leave the fighting to my friends… but what the hell could I do against a Megaladon? Under water I can’t shoot, or maneuver. With my mask I can’t even see that great. Should I recruit more? Would it even help? I don’t know if I CAN tame anymore big animals. They do feed themselves mostly but, if I cant give them something… am I really caring for them? 

-

I’m as ready as I can be. I’m bringing jars of healing tonic, and I spiced a few jars of it up with that weed stuff I got. I’ve lined my new scuba suit with thin metal. Swimming is a little harder with the heavier suit, but it should protect me from bites (from anything smaller than a Megaladon at least). I’ve also made new spears with more barbed blades on the end, like harpoons. Should be good for shanking monster fish. On top of all my equipment, I’ve taught the sharks some new commands and equipped their saddles with as much armor as I could fit on them. They seem excited. I’m not. I’m terrified. What if there’s another “Kraken” squid in there? What if there’s more than one? What if there’s something bigger? Maybe this first expedition will just be a test run…

I'll be really glad when I'm finished with Arks oceans. There's too many ways to die horribly down there. Crushed to death by Dunkleosteus teeth, shocked by eels, poisoned by jellyfish, torn apart by sharks, stabbed by stingrays, or of course, hugged to death by spikey monster squids. Then, of course, there's the ever-present threat of drowning. Ugh. Wish me luck.


	22. Entry 54: Lost Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayne challenges a (rather infamous) sea cave.

I’m back. Got artifact. Think I’m dying…

-

This is bad. Fuck. Want my finger back.

-

Everything is agony.

-

I got the chunk of tooth out of my shin. Used lots of alcohol to dull the pain then used the Psyclaw to pry it out. I think my vocal chords are damaged from the screaming... but hey, there isnt a needle shaped chunk of tooth in my leg causing me agony anymore... I don’t care how bad it is. Tomorrow, I have to check on Kraken. I can’t lose her.

-

She’s alive… We’re alive. We’re all alive… I tore my leg open swimming to her. I should really check on that… and my finger stump. I’m fairly sure my ribs are cracked too, but I just don’t care. Whatever I’m feeling… she’s got it worse. She’s just… lying there at the bottom of our little inlet. I thought she was dead. She’s barely moving, and she almost looks like… a big deflated balloon. Lindsay seems to be guarding her. I love that Spinosaur so damn much. She’ll keep Piranha’s away while Kraken tries to heal. She can’t defend herself. None of the Sharks are in any shape to help either. I have to do something. I don’t care if it hurts me.

-

I made a treat for Kraken. I filled a hide bag up with a few black pearls I found, and then stuffed it with medical paste and every last bit of that special herb I got for beating the ape. I really hope this works. She’s still lying there. I can’t see any more bleeding at least. Please be alive.

-

Okay, I gave her the “medicine.” I couldn’t reach her beak at first. She had it covered up by her arms. I was trying to move them, I felt several wounds open as I struggled, but then Lindsay appeared from above, with a fish struggling in her jaws. I watched as she crunched down on it before she used her nose to move Kraken’s arms around (and shove me lightly to the side). Once her beak was visible, Lindsay shoved her nose into it, and deposited the fish inside. I had to gawk for a second, but then I snapped into action, swimming up to her beak and throwing the meds in there with the fish Lin gave her. Then… I had a slight panic attack when Lindsay closed her jaws lightly around my torso. Next thing I knew, we were heading for the surface. Those teeth… even when she’s being gentle, they are not comfortable…

She gingerly set me down on the sand, and gave me this look. I swear she was pleading with me. She burbled and quietly whined, nosing me towards my house. “I have to help her Lindsay” was all I could say. But of course… the whole Raptor pack arrived and they teamed up on me to guilt me back to the house. “Fine, I’ll go make my leg stop bleeding.”

I’ve gotten my wounds closed again. I’m going to sleep. Tomorrow… hopefully Kraken will be better. Maybe then, I’ll explain how we got into this mess.

-

She’s still lying there… but as I watched her, she caught a fish on her own. I think the medicine helped. Kas and the Sharks seem to be mending too. I was losing hope. That sea cave… It’s a doozy. I still can’t believe we’re all alive. I can safely say that was the harshest, most unforgiving trial this Island has hit me with so far. I’d rather fight the Queen Spider again than go back down there.

You'll forgive me dear reader. I've got wounds that are worse than the one Crow gave me. But I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Let’s talk about the sea cave in the eastern seas.

It took a week to get everything prepped to go. Like I said, I had better equipment and plenty of health tonic and stimulants, just in case. I also filled satchels with spare oxygen tanks. I've made four of them at this point. I had no way of keeping food dry, so I ended up bringing almost half of my supply of jerky as well. It can survive getting soaked and still be edible. Other than that it was all harpoons and spare weapons if I needed them.

Kasatka carried me along the water, with the three Sharks, Jaws, Sharknado, and Mega Shark, trailing behind us, while Kraken swam beneath us. There was one more titan with us though. Lindsay. I had no plans to bring her into the cave with us. I wanted her to stay at the surface. Just in case we needed to retreat, she would be there to cover us. She seemed happy to be swimming alongside her water-dwelling companions.

A day later, we landed on the beach above where the cave is, and I built a temporary shelter, like I did for other caves. It's nice to have a spot to retreat to if you need it. But that’s the boring part. There was plenty of trepidation that night. I had no idea what to expect from this cave. I knew it wasn’t going to be fun. None of the caves were. Nothing could have prepared me for what was coming though. There’s not much else to say… so let’s dive in. The next morning, my sea friends and I descended into a watery hell.

I lead us inside, riding on Kasatka, in case eels or jellyfish were waiting. Mega Shark, Jaws, and Sharknado followed closely behind me, with Kraken bringing up the rear. I kept it slow. I was expecting trouble, but damn, I didn't expect this much trouble. We passed through a long rocky corridor, which opened up into a wide chamber. The whole thing was only partially submerged in water, and was lit by sunlight spilling through cracks in the ceiling (How had I not seen this place from above?). Anyway, things were calm for maybe ten seconds… Then I spotted some wild sharks torpedoing straight for us. "That the best this cave can throw at me?" I thought. The fates punished me for my hubris. Seconds later the cave was swarming, and I mean _swarming_ , with hostile creatures of all shapes and sizes. Stingrays, piranhas, electric eels, more sharks, and some of those deep-sea anglerfish that are as big as me. Chaos ensued.

It was nuts. I can’t even put to words what happened. It was just this chaotic mess of blood and teeth. Kasatka protected me from electric shocks, and swam about in the chaos, biting at anything that got in front of him. Strapped into his saddle as I was, there was little I could do to help in the fight. I felt helpless. Angry predators darted about on all sides. I whipped my head about looking for my sharks. Two were fighting bravely against the swarms, chomping on stingrays and anglerfish. The other was stunned by an electric attack and currently being gnawed on by 5 of the little bastards. I was looking around for Kraken, I'd lost her in the chaos. I didn't see the damn jellyfish above me. Kas swam under it, and it's tentacles brushed against my arm. Despite the polymer layer between it and my skin, the venomous barbs pierced through, and pain exploded through me. For a second my body seized up, and I slid right out of my saddle. Kasatka continued without me, lost in the frenzy. Thankfully I had my spear and crossbow. I jammed that Jelly right in its bell-shaped body, and swam away even before I had full control of my limbs back.

I stayed alert, and swam back towards the walls, trying to keep myself near rocks and crevices. I shot arrows into anything that got close to me. They were only effective on smaller things. Several times massive bus sized sharks would appear in the murk and I’d fire at them too, but I imagine it was like a freaking splinter to them. A few of those asshole stingrays rammed into me again. The metal I had on some of my scuba gear kept me mostly safe from those attacks, but it wasn’t enough to stop their stingers. One of them hit me square in the shoulder and managed to pierce the metal, and sink into my flesh maybe half an inch. That was my first painful wound. There were so many more to come. I stabbed those Rays in the face with my harpoon, before fighting off a trio of Piranhas. God I hate those fish. One of them got my left arm in its mouth and chomped down. Again, the metal kept me safe… at least at first. I tried to wrench my arm out, but it clamped down on my hand… specifically on my freaking pinky finger. There was an awful “crunch” that I barely heard, and a brief moment of absolute pain, followed by a “pop.” Then there was even more pain. I had to kill two more piranhas before I could stop and survey the damage. I remember… I was so confused. “why is my pinky just a red stump? Oh.. Oh you mother fucker. GIVE THAT BACK! Shit. Bleeding. Stop the bleeding. How? Tie the stump?” I’m really glad I had that thought. I cut some of the strap of my goggles off and used it to tie the stump of my pinky a tight as I could. The red cloud stopped spilling out. Then an anglerfish engulfed my whole fucking foot in its mouth.

If you haven’t seen one of those, they have needle teeth as big as their own face. Their bites are nothing to laugh at. I could only watch, helpless as its jaws slid closed. Most of its teeth were stopped by what I assume was my leg bone, but at least one almost passed in one end and out the other. I screamed bubbles into the red tinged water as I jammed my spear between its eyes. That just caused the bastard to bite down harder before he died. I had to pry its jaw back open to wrench my leg free. I wanted to check the damage… but then I saw the eels… “Oh fuck me…”

A familiar, burning pain seized my whole body. It felt like I was on fire. "Fucking eels" I thought to myself. I tried to move, but I couldn't. My body was seizing up from the shock. The squirmy bastards were swimming to me to claim their meal. But then the water turned black. Before the dark enveloped me, I caught a glimpse as something massive and covered in writhing appendages came rocketing into the chamber. I love you Kraken. Once I wasn't stunned any more I got myself into a defensive posture, spear at the ready, but the ink cloud left me completely blind. Whenever I spotted something squirming around me, I stabbed it. I don't know how many vicious beasts I killed, but when the ink settled there weren't many left. Kraken’s arrival let us snag a victory there. Like I said a long time ago, she’s like a giant blender or something. She whipped her arms at everything, stabbing them with the spikes. Then she wrapped up the last shark in the chamber, and slowly crushed it to death. Finally I had a chance to look around. My sharks were feasting on carcasses, Kasatka was cruising around the chamber snatching up jellyfish and eels that were left, and I was there bleeding a lot. The whole chamber was tinged red by the time everything went quiet.

I banged on my drum to get everyone to gather around me so I could see how bad the damage was. Sharknado was bleeding from multiple bite wounds, Mega Shark and Kasatka both appeared to have been stabbed by stingrays and nibbled on my others, and Jaws, among other wounds, was missing half his right flipper. I remember thinking at the time "that was the most intense fight of my life!"

But that was only the first god damn chamber of this cave. I got all of us out of there to spend the day healing. We'd return in a day or two after we rested. I had to stop everything so I could dig the broken anglerfish tooth out of my leg. Even after I got it out, I was dismayed to see that the tip was broken off, and likely still embedded in my calf somewhere. Walking was going to suck. I had no idea what to do about my missing finger. I mostly tried to ignore it… I let myself rest and recover but only until the next morning. The pain I felt… everywhere, was crippling, but I took a stimulant, put in my rebreather and dove back into the water. I figured I had to make sure I was finished with this hellish cave, and I had to get the artifact. Then I could forget it existed.

My friends weren’t fully recovered either. It was then I noticed Kraken was missing an arm. The jagged tear marks on her stump lead me to believe she’d lost one to a shark. Poor girl.

I swam up to everyone to encourage them and slip them some treats. I had to be sure they were willing to follow me. With a bang of my wrist drum, I lead us back into the depths.

We got back to the first chamber and had to fight another wave of piranhas and angler fish who had come to scavenge on the remains yesterday's battle. We took a few nips, but cleared it out again. “Thank god it wasn’t a swarm.”

I searched the chamber for any clues that might lead me to an artifact, but all I found was another tunnel leading elsewhere. This time, I sent Kraken through ahead of us. Damn good thing I did too, because the next few chambers of this cave were just as bad as the first. More swarms of zappy, bitey, stabby, monsters, reinforced by big angry sharks attacked us at every opportunity.

Having Kraken take point ended up being a great tactical choice. She did her blender thing. Whipping her arms and tentacles about, rending the flesh of anything that got close, leaving them dead, injured, stunned, terrified, or some combination of those. You can be stunned in death...

The Sharks and I were easily able to pick off what Kraken missed, but once we reached the third chamber… we were overwhelmed. It was the Eels. There were so many of them that their collective attack managed to stun Kraken. Then another swarm of foes descended upon us. Before that… I heard a sound. A deep, long bellowing call that reverberated the water all around us. Whatever it was… it was big. I only had seconds to panic before I was forced to aim Kasatka at the encroaching eels. He thinned out their numbers, making it easier for the sharks to attack. Then a wild shark barreled into Kas and I. It managed to close its jaws around his side, but by dismounting, and stabbing the bitch in the eye, I managed to minimize the damage to him. Then the chaos ensued once again.

I went into a stabbing flurry as the rest of my friends worked to shred all of our attackers. I was helpless to stop the eels though. I got zapped maybe three times. I can't even describe the pain. My respirator slipped from my lips as my body seized up. Then the needling pain of dozens of little teeth reached my brain from all over my body. The eels were gnawing on me. Four of them, their teeth were tearing through the rubber of my wetsuit and drawing blood. I was helpless to stop them. I couldn’t move my arms. If I didn't get my respirator back soon, I would drown. My head was able to move first. I looked around. All of my friends were locked in combat. None would be able to help me.

It only got worse from there. That sound came again. A deep rumbling bellow. Weakly, I looked towards another tunnel where I thought the sound was coming from, and I saw a massive shadow emerge.

It had square looking shoulders as bulky as a freight train, and a long muscled body. It’s reptilian head gazed hungrily at us, as it’s jaws opened and it unleashed another bellow. It was a massive marine reptile with stubby fin-like appendages in place of arms and legs. It was roughly the same length as Kraken… but in terms of sheer bulk… it dwarfed her by a wide margin. It propelled itself forward with a rudder-like tail that could have powered a freighter. This was most definitely the apex predator of these waters. Based on the head, it could only be a Mosasaurus. I felt the color drain from me… though that might have been the blood loss from the little shits gnawing on me.

Kraken, now missing three arms, was struggling with a shark, when the Mosasaur entered. It immediately set its sights on her, and lurched forward with terrifying speed, to close its jaws around her mantle. For the first time since I’ve known her… Kraken looked panicked. If I lost Kraken, we died. I tried to move my arms, but I still couldn't. I was helpless. Kraken flailed, but she wasn't strong enough to wrench herself free. She couldn't reach her attacker with her tentacles either. I had to help.

I closed my eyes, and desperately willed my stunned limbs to work. I felt my arm return to life. It wasn't the one grasping my spear though, so the first thing I did, was grab the nearest eel by the throat, and squeeze until I felt it crunch in my grip. Tossing the dying beast away, next, I got my breather back in, and got air back in my lungs. Feeling was returning to my body. I kicked the other eels away, stabbing one, then another, the last one darted out of range, as it wheeled around I saw it was cackling with electricity, ready for another electric burst. I didn't give it a chance. My crossbow was loaded; I shot it between the eyes. Then I banged on my drum for all I was worth, as I forced my exhausted battered body toward Kraken and the attacking Mosasaur.

I got there first, jamming my spear deep into its belly. It stirred in pain, but didn't loosen its grip. I yanked the spear out and jabbed again. Still nothing. It was too busy thrashing and trying to tear open my friend. I swam to its head. “Don’t you fucking ignore me,” I thought, as jammed my harpoon right at its eye. I didn’t hit the eye, but I made it hurt. It let go of Kraken thrust its head towards me. I was already retreating when it did, so it barely hit me in the chest… but at that size… I might as well have been “barely hit” by a semi. I felt my ribs crack, and the wind was forced out of me so hard my mouthpiece seemed to fly out. Soon after my sharks arrived, ramming into the beast and biting bleeding wounds into it. This did get the beasts attention. It seemed a battle between the monster and my sharks was about to commence, but instead, all of us were suddenly enveloped in inky blackness. I grinned. Kraken was back on the offensive.

I cringed as I tasted water mixed with blood and ink, but then I got my mouthpiece back in and swam upwards until I escaped her cloud of ink, then I watched as she turned herself around, spread her tentacles wide, and lurched into inky water like a massive spider. When the ink faded, I could only watch in awe as the two mighty titans clashed. Kraken had enveloped the Mosasaur in her spikey crushing grip and was holding on tight, but it struggled with a scary amount of strength. I didn’t think Kraken would be able to hold on for very long. I ordered the sharks and Kasatka back to keep any other nasties from flanking us, while I joined the fight with Kraken. I swam above the thrashing Mosasaur’s head and jabbed my spear downward. That made it angry, it tried whipping its head up to crush me in its massive jaws, but it couldn't reach me. I kept needling it, until finally I distracted it enough to give Kraken the opening she needed.

She shifted her arms slightly, moving from its shoulders to its neck. She pulled the thrashing Mosasaur higher, till it was in range of her deadly beak. Not even the thick hide of a Mosasaur can withstand the crushing beak of the giant squid. It clamped bloodily down on the Mosasaur’s throat, and tore it wide open. The giant bled out rapidly after that. I watched in horror as Kraken dislodged herself from her foe… but then sank with it. I made a move to swim to her… but then another roar turned my blood to ice. I whipped towards the sound, and sure enough, a second Mosasaur, full of vitality, emerged into the chamber. None of us were in any shape to fight it. “I’m going to die.”

Kraken saved us again. With whatever strength she had left, I watched her launch herself at the beast, but she went right for its head. I tried yelling at her, forgetting I was underwater… Helplessly I watched as half of one of her main tentacles slid straight into the Mosasaur’s gullet. I winced as its jaws closed. Her sinewy limb held for a bit as it thrashed around, but in a few seconds, it tore the limb away, flinging the exhausted squid aside. She sank, almost lifelessly to the bottom of the chamber. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do when the second Mosasaur just… started flailing. Soon torrents of blood gushed from its maw. I watched in confusion as it thrashed, seemingly in pain… and then… it died and sank to the bottom with its companion.

I didn’t figure it out till later, but I’ll go ahead and explain… Kraken, clever girl that she is, hadn’t just thrust her tentacle into the Mosasaur’s mouth. She’d had the jagged Rex bone from her tool belt clutched in it too. She’d lost the tentacle, but before that, she’d apparently manipulated it enough that it stabbed through the Mosasaur’s throat and into its innards.

At that point, my proverbial tank was empty. Old wounds, and new wounds, enflamed every inch of me, and all of my stamina had vanished a long time ago. But I pushed myself to swim to where Kraken lay crumpled on the floor of the cave. She was alive, but she was in bad shape. She still lightly wrapped the tip of her remaining tentacle around my shoulder to give me a reassuring squeeze. She needed to rest. I kicked off the ground and let myself drift to the surface, desperately trying to stay awake.

Once I was reasonably sure there weren’t any monsters below me, I turned onto my back and floated on the waters surface, I spat out my rebreather and just… floated. I took a few deep breaths, before I finally looked around. That’s when I noticed, there’s a whole section of this cave that’s not under water. Do yourself a favor though, just ignore the land sections. I know it’s tempting… Naturally I didn’t have that advice at the time. I saw land and immediately willed myself to the nearest bit of it so I could hoist myself onto the rocky surface and pass the fuck out…

I lay there panting on my back for all of thirty seconds, when a pair of bats landed on me and started trying to bite and scratch. I was tired, but I guess I still had a bit more energy left. I punched one, right in its ugly furry nose, it leaped away, while its companion lunged for my throat. I caught its neck with my free hand and squeezed tight as I sat myself up. I found myself a bit shocked by my own strength. Big as the squirming bat monster was, I held its throat with little effort. I forced my aching body to its feet, keeping the thrashing creature firmly in my grasp. Once I was certain I wasn’t about to collapse I punched the bat I was holding as hard as I could. Something cracked in its face. It went almost completely slack in my hand. I hurled it into the water. The one I'd punched before, was fluttering about on the ground, still recovering from the blow I’d given it. I ran up and punted it into the water to join its companion. My sharks made those assholes disappear for me.

I fell to my knees, desperate for rest. I knew I couldn't yet. I was bleeding and burned in way to many places. If I didn't patch myself up, I'd die in my sleep. Somehow I hauled myself back in the water, looking for my friends. They'd finished killing the rest of the caves inhabitants. They swam up to me, probably looking for comfort, after all the fighting. I gave them as much as I could. But I had to keep myself going first. I got the jars of stimulant and medical paste out of Kasatka’s saddlebags, and went ashore again to patch myself up as best I could. I bandaged my open wounds. My pinky kept insisting it was there, which made it an awkward process. There wasn’t much I could do for my broken ribs, or the fact that my whole body felt like one big bruise. I’m not even kidding when I say even the smallest movements caused me pain.

Worst of all, I just couldn’t get my breath back. I stripped off some of my gear, and tried to rest… but the cave didn’t let me. There’s more baddies hiding on the land. I saw the squad of scorpions skittering towards me and prepared myself. I felt like I was moving through molasses. Every move took more effort, and all of it hurt. But I got the bastards. With them dead, I had to make a choice. I could take a stimulant, and fight my way through the rest of this hellish cave, or I could risk trying to sleep a bit, and try again later… I went with the stimulant. I'm stupidly stubborn and stubbornly stupid. I wasn't leaving that cave without an artifact. I didn’t want to wait, and if I let myself rest, who knows if I would live long enough to rouse myself again. So I chugged down the bitter stimulant. The effect was immediate. It didn’t relieve any pain, and honestly, it just felt like it kicked up my heart rate to dangerous degrees… but it got me moving. I chugged water, tinged with blood and ink, from the cave (that was stupid of me) to make sure I didn’t dehydrate. There was no going back, so instead I plowed forward, one painful step at a time.

I used my spear as a walking stick, and slowly hobbled my way around the dry portion of the cave, it's really just a sequence of rocky paths around the water we'd entered in. I took a few more hits from bats and scorpions up there, but nothing too serious. They aren’t as plentiful as they were in other caves… but boy did they seem like way bigger obstacles than usual. Any fighting I did just made my aching body hurt more.

After a few hours of abusing my injured leg, I had nothing. I found I'd gone in a complete circle. I made it around all the crags and found some explorer notes, but there was no artifact. When I hobbled up to the place where I started by the water… I plopped down and just… screamed. Like I said… just ignore the land bits. On the plus side, I was reasonably sure there weren’t any monsters up here now… My stimulant had finally died away… so I laid back and lost consciousness. I was out for hours. When I woke up, moonlight was shining through the cracks in the roof.

The cave was almost pitch dark now save for a few slivers of moonlight leaking in… “but where was all that light coming from?” Battle and stimulants had made me a little loopy, so I was really confused for a bit. Finally it clicked. The light was coming from the water. I struggled to my feet. Christ… I think sleeping just made my aches worse. But I got up and hobbled to the water’s edge. The walls of the underwater portions of the cave were covered bioluminescent coral, anemones, and plants. It was… kind of pretty. Almost ethereal looking.

As I gazed about, I saw Kraken, still curled up at the bottom. I immediately sucked down another jar of stimulant, and got all my scuba gear back on. If the artifact wasn’t on land, it had to be in the water somewhere. I can’t wait any longer. I have to get Kraken out of here. Ignoring all my aches and pains, I dove in. The Sharks, and Kas came when I banged my drum. I put thankful hands on each of their noses. I glanced down, and winced, when I saw Kraken uncurling herself and struggling to join us. I swam to her, and banged my drum to tell her to stay. She was in worse shape than I was. She needed more rest. I dragged some gory remains to her in case she got hungry, before returning to the others. I strapped myself onto Kas, and we began backtracked through the cave.

We picked our way through the gory battlefield from a few hours ago. Thankfully we didn’t have to search too long. There’s a little cranny in the second chamber, tucked away, and hard to spot when you’re desperately fighting for your life. On the floor of this little spot is a huge hole. It’s only just wide enough to fit Kasatka and the Sharks through one at a time. “Please don’t be full of monsters” I prayed.

It wasn’t _full_ of monsters. But there were a few little ones. An eel, a few piranhas, and some stubborn anglerfish. We got nibbled on a bit, and Jaws got a nasty bite, but otherwise, it was a cakewalk compared to what we’d just been through… At the end of this “hidden tunnel,” you’ll find a strange looking shrine, pulsing with light. There, you’ll find “The artifact of the Cunning.” It’s inscription reads _With craft and strategy, to outwit one's opponents may be essential to survival._ I suppose I have had to be pretty clever to make it this far… both in the cave, and in general.

We were ready to drop. I had a piranha bite to my shoulder I needed to patch, and everyone else had a dozen new bleeding wounds. I lead us back to the chamber where Kraken rested. I patched myself up, and had the others stay on the surface, so I could patch their wounds as best I could. Jaws was in really bad shape. He’d been zapped to hell, he’d lost most of a flipper, and the piranhas had taken way too many chunks out of him. I wish I’d thought to bring more giant “band aids.” But who knows if those even worked underwater? I needed to reach Lindsay, outside. I’d left more cloth up in the hut, where it could stay dry. I could use it patch some of these. So I banged my drum. Everyone, as battered and exhausted as they were, came to me, and slowly but surely, we made our way outside.

As soon as we made it outside, we were approached by two more wild sharks. I was ready to just flip them off and let them have me by then, but Lindsay chased them away for us, and helped us all reach the surface. She sniffed worriedly at me as I limped up the beach. She even tried to lift me up and carry me, but I didn’t let her. I had to patch wounds. And I did. Then… finally… I slept.

When I awoke, Kraken and Jaws were both looking pretty bad. Jaws was still swimming, but Kraken just floated there. I thought she was dead. I climbed onto Lindsay and she swam us to our cephalopodic friend. When we reached her, she very lightly, and very gently, curled her remaining arms around Lin’s chest and torso. So we made our way home like that, basically dragging her behind us. We made good time, but I just knew there were predators after us. They smelled an easy meal. Lin kept them at bay, but it took us two harrowing day’s to get home. Finally we made it. Kraken weakly propelled herself to the little inlet where she sank herself to the bottom, and that’s where she still is. The Sharks and Kas aren’t moving too quickly either… I’m sorry guys. You’ll never have to fight like that for me ever again. If I can… I’ll make sure you have happy lives after this. You’ve earned it and more from me. Just please… All of you… stay alive.

-

I think we’re all going to pull through. That cave didn’t rob me of hope after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate that cave...


	23. Entry 55: Building a Bridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To help her heal, and adjust, Rayne begins a construction project that takes her over three months to complete.

Its been two weeks since that damn sea cave. I’m still not fully recovered. None of us are, but… Kraken is swimming again. To a limited degree she can defend herself too. I went swimming with her, and she happily wrapped me up with the tips of her (remaining) arms. I noticed… there’s little buds growing on all her stumps. I think she’s regrowing her missing limbs. That likely explains why she’s been so hungry. Lindsay killed a Shark the other day, but Kraken was the one who claimed the prize. She ate the whole damn thing. A whole bus worth of giant shark… It was just a big… gore cloud. Despite the nightmares, I’m just happy to see her up and about.

Jaws’ wounds are ugly, but they’re healing. Kas and the other two Sharks are healing well, almost back to one hundred percent. We have had a few setbacks though. I need to do something about the damn Piranhas. There’s a steady stream of them coming from somewhere upriver. It’s most likely the swamp. I guess they can just smell wounded prey. Thankfully its not like a massive swarming school of them, just two or three every couple of hours. For the most part, Lindsay handles them, but she needs to sleep. So some mornings, there are a few new bites on my healing friends.

I wish I could help them heal faster, but I’m still crippled myself. I’ve been having trouble adjusting to only having nine fingers. Nothing feels right anymore. I’m really glad I’m not left handed, but every action I perform with the left now just… feels wrong. I hesitate for a second. I have to think about it. One second is all it takes to kill me. I need to take some time to readjust. But even worse is my leg. The wound seems to be closed, and I’m (mostly) sure I got the entire tooth out, but even after two weeks, putting any weight on that leg just… hurts. I don’t know what else to do at this point. I’m worried I permanently hobbled myself. Dad taught me basic first aid, and even some advanced first aid. The engrams taught me even more… But this… This kind of work requires a freaking surgeon.

I need to let my leg heal, I need to get used to my finger being gone, and I need to do something to slow the damn Piranha’s down. I’ve got a project in mind that should check all three boxes. I’m gonna build a bridge. It will go across the river, from my peninsula to the island east of me. The underwater part will incorporate fencing to keep those bastard Piranhas on their own side.

I know that sounds like strenuous labor… and it will be. With just me, it’ll probably take me weeks, maybe months to complete. But the first phase of it, is going to be planning. The second is going to be using the fabricator to mass produce nails, and other necessary tools. I’ll also need to assemble stone pillars out of rock and “frog spit.” I’ll start using all of the stuff I already have assembled. Then I can get Bob the (motherfucking) builder to gather lumber for me, and I can saw up parts of it without using my leg… mostly. Hopefully, by the time I’m finished with all that, my leg will be feeling better. If it is, I can move on to getting the bridge assembled. If not… I’m fucked. But in any case, all of that is going to require a massive amount of work with my hands, which will hopefully acclimate me to my new nine-fingered status.

So… Yeah… That’s what I’m going to be doing for the next while. I’ll jot down something daily, just to keep track of my progress.

-

Smelting and shaping nails!

-

More smelting and shaping nails!

-

Joke landed, more nails.

-

Ow… Fuck. I want my finger back… Small hand injury to treat.

-

Leg still sucks. Hand wound is better. Today I hobbled around to check on friends. Raptor pack continues to be awesome and adorable. Snugglebug continues to be a WAY oversized teddybear, the Rexes chill out with Shea and the Iguanadons up on the plateau, Amalthea is still fabulous, Petey and Paprika sleep a lot, Slayer and the little ones have gotten louder with all the new additions, and everyone else seems to be doing alright. It’s like they know I’m out of commission for the most part too. They’ve been putting more effort into feeding themselves.

But now the important part. Its been three weeks, and I’m happy to report, Kas and the Sharks are all back to their happy splashy selves. Jaws has a bit more healing to do, but even he has his energy back. Kraken is still missing limbs, but those buds are definitely growing. She’s also swimming again. Even with all those missing appendages she still catches giant ass prey to eat. She made one of those Dunkleosteus fish disappear.

After my walk/hobble around to the friends… I made some more nails.

-

More nails. This pile is huge.

-

More nails. I still feel like it’s not even close to enough, but I’m so bored of making nails.

-

Nails again. Why can’t I get nailed? Why are these nails the only ones that will get hammered in the near future… I suppose I could get “drunk” hammered… Don’t mind me, I make my own fun.

-

Thousands. Thousands of metal nails. I’ve even made some of various sizes. Freaking Diddy hurt himself climbing the mountain of nails. I need like… a tarp or something. Shit… Why didn’t I build the fabricator closer to the storage shed?

-

Krakens acting like she’s fully healed… That’s good, but I hope she isn’t too overconfident. She still has to regrow those limbs.

-

Done with nails for now. I thought it was time to smash up some rocks… But I need a better way. This hurts my leg too much. I do have an idea. Some of the explorer notes I found mention that some tribes of miners utilize Ankylosaurus to help them smash through rocks. If I can recruit one to the family, I’ll be able to smash all the rock I need to make bricks. Even better? I think I know where to find one. Lindsay and I will take a nice leisurely trip east, along the coast, and she’ll swim us to herbivore Island. It will likely take us a day or two. I’ll be sure to take it easy along the way. It’ll be nice to hang with my girl.

-

We’re back, a little earlier than I expected. We never made it to Herbivore Island, which is good, because I totally forgot to plan out how to get an Ankylosaurus from Herbivore Island back to the mainland. Fortunately, I’ve found a substitute for an Ankylosaurus. No idea what kind of animal it is, but it looks like a cross between an armadillo and a pillpug. Naturally, I named him Pillbug.

Lindsay and I were enjoying our stroll. The first night, she even helped me gather wood for a fire. Then we just lay there looking at the stars. I slept resting in the crook of her forearm. There’s something comforting about the deep guttural breaths of an apex predator that you know is your pal.

But anyway, the next morning, we rounded a corner, and I spotted this… bizarre looking ball. It was shaped sort of like a big walnut with a few small spikes on one side. Lindsay was content to ignore the thing, but I was curious, so I stopped us and climbed down to approach. The surface of it almost looked… scaled. There were some really bright blue patterns mixed with sandy brown (a very odd combo indeed). Cautiously I approached. Even when I was standing right next to it, I couldn’t even tell if it was an animal or not. So I poked it. That got a small reaction. The thing shuddered.

I backed away when I realized the thing was alive. I squatted down to see if I could figure out what this thing was. All I could see was the weird ball, but at the very bottom, there’s a bit of a ridge… I could just barely make out a pair of eyes gazing back at me from underneath it. Still curious about what the hell the thing was, I opened up our berry sack and left a pile near the thing, before backing away and watching through my spyglass. It took about fifteen minutes for the thing to get brave enough to poke it’s head out, and even then, it was just to snatch a few berries before retreating back underneath. The head made it look more mammalian than anything. I have to assume its some sort of prehistoric proto-armadillo.

By getting Lindsay to walk down the beach a little further, I was able to coax the big roly poly out of his shell. Once I saw the stubby little legs, and, more importantly, the fucking morning-star of a tail it had, I knew I was in love. I managed to make friends with him by sharing a few of my Citrionol fruits with him. It took us a while to get home, but we’re here. Tomorrow, I’m gonna see if Pillbug’s tail is as effective as I think it is.

-

Holy crap. Pillbug’s tail obliterates boulders. I have so much rock. I love you Pillbug.

-

Chiseled rocks into brick-ish shapes today.

-

More chiseling.

-

And again.

-

Again… But also, my leg doesn’t seem to hurt as much today. I can’t tell if it’s getting better, or if I’m just accustomed to the pain…

-

More chiseling

-

This is getting silly. Why don’t I just write when I’m done chiseling rocks.

-

It’s been another week. I’m still chiseling. Leg still hurts, but I can walk without a stick or a crutch now.

-

Another week. I think its time I start moving all this stone to the water.

-

This is actually going to work. It’s been two days. I’m building my bridge the same way I built my dock. I’ve embedded several stone pillars underwater. I’ve got the measurements right, and I’m stacking them up. Lindsay has been keeping the Piranha’s away. More importantly… Kraken has taken a keen interest in what I’m doing. On my second day of diving and dragging stone pillars, she started to help me. She dragged the pillars down for me, then held them there while I dug into the clay. She would then help hold it steady while I stabilized them.

If she keeps helping, this might not take so long.

-

Another week. It’s still gonna be a while. I think I vastly underestimated how far across this river is. It’s a few hundred yards, easy. Fuck it. Not stopping.

-

It’s been another week. Making progress… but I’m stopping for another reason. The data in my implant says I’ve been on this island for seven hundred and eighty days. Over two whole years. But who cares. The thing that’s on my mind… I think Raven’s birthday is coming up. I wish I kept better track of when this shit happened. I don’t remember the exact day. I went through my journal entries, but I didn’t really keep careful track there either, but I think Raven will be one year old in about four days. One year and she’s already brought down prey twice her size as well as an evil alpha Raptor. She even helped bring down that over sized gorilla. I should give her a treat.

-

Happy Birthday my murder bird. She got a big chunk of prime meat and lots of affection. I swear she purred when I massaged her neck for her. The other Raptors seemed to clue in, and treated her like she was special. I was grateful. I love you Raven.

-

Week has passed. The stone under the water spans the river. It’s time to start gathering wood.

-

Another week. Got all the lumber I need. Started sawing.

-

Three days. So much sawdust.

-

Hung out with the Raptors today. Raven threw me down a hill. Surprisingly, I’m not injured. I think I’m as healed as I’m gonna get. Still pain in my leg. But it’s manageable. Interesting note, I’m not sure if its because of her celebration a few weeks ago, but Raven seems to be the pack leader of the Raptors now. I wonder when it was that both her dad, and (even more surprisingly) her mom relinquished command. You earned it Raven. Hail to the queen…

-

Construction begins.

-

Well… It took me a grand total of ninety-eight days, if my math is right… I’ve done it. The bridge is complete. It actually looks… pretty damn good. The underwater fencing keeps the Piranha’s at bay, and its all nice and solid. Even Lindsay was able to walk across it without it groaning in too much protest. I’m… super proud of it.

I mentioned a while back that my leg still hurts, and that’s still true, but its mostly a dull ache now. I can run, climb, and swim without too much pain.

My left arm is almost as thick as my right after all that… and I’ve gotten used to my missing pinky. It still likes to trick me into thinking it’s still there from time to time. But my hands know what they’re doing again.

Kraken’s missing limbs are almost completely regrown at this point. She uses those new limbs to treat the bridge we built together as a sort of jungle gym. She also spent a lot of time stealing things from me while I built. Tools, lumber... whatever she felt like. But I can't stay mad at her. Even when she sank my boat by letting the floating logs smash a hole in the side... I just swam over to give her a hug. 

In the end… what I set out to do three months ago has been accomplished. That damn sea cave is officially behind us, and I never have to worry about Piranha attacks while trekking to the next island over ever again. I think it’s high time I painted a picture to commemorate my accomplishment.

Here it is... Complete with a lovable nightmare that likes to climb it.

-

Heh. Went on a bit of a painting spree. Just felt like painting another one after I painted the bridge. My own little primal world…

The birthday girl is the one in the left corner. In the water above her, you can see Lin splashing about. The rest of the Raptors are there on the beach, with Hawk sniffing at Amalthea in the middle. You might be able to make out Snugglebug, Jimmy, and Miranda on the far side of the inlet, then on the right, we've got Nicky, Minaj, Shea, Petey, and several others all hanging out in the shade. If there were just some more people... I'd never want to leave... I love them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh... Really wish I'd kept track of the days better. To anyone reading, the number of days Rayne has been on the island may change, just assume she’s been there over two years


End file.
